India to host regional security dialogue on Afghanistan on Nov 10

Invitations to the Delhi Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan have been sent to China and Pakistan, the latter has denied participation. Central Asian countries, as well as Russia and Iran have confirmed their participation for the event.

New Delhi:India will be hosting the Delhi Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan on November 10, sources in the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday. The meeting to be held at the National Security Agency level will be chaired by advisor Ajit Doval.

Marking first-time participation, Central Asian countries, as well as Russia and Iran, have confirmed their presence in the event. Formal responses are awaited from China and Pakistan after sending the invitation. However, Pakistan has indicated that it will refrain from attending the event through media, as per MEA sources.

In response, the MEA said, Pakistan’s decision is unfortunate, but not surprising. It reflects its mindset of viewing Afghanistan as its protectorate. Pakistan has not attended the previous meetings of this format. Its media comments against India are an unsuccessful attempt to deflect attention from its pernicious role in Afghanistan.

Earlier, two meetings were held in this format in Iran in September 2018 and December 2019. The third scheduled meeting was not held owing to the pandemic and this meeting comes after over two months of the Taliban taking control over Afghanistan.

A fortnight ago, an Indian delegation, led by Joint Secretary JP Singh at the Ministry of External Affairs met the Taliban representatives of the Moscow format meeting on Afghanistan. As per news source in Afghanistan, the Indian delegation expressed readiness in providing humanitarian assistance to the war-torn country. In a first official contact between India and the Taliban on August 31, the ambassador of India to Qatar, Deepak Mittal, met Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the head of Taliban's political office in Doha.