Afghan Foreign Minister in Delhi to discuss peace process

Afghanistan Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar arrived at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport in New Delhi on Monday. Atmar will meet with the External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar at the Hyderabad House at 6 pm, reports senior correspondent Chandrakala Choudhury.

New Delhi: Afghanistan's foreign minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar arrived in New Delhi on Monday. He is on a three-day visit to India to discuss the developments about the Intra-Afghan Peace talks. Later in the evening, he is scheduled to meet External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and brief him on the outcome of the Moscow conference on Afghanistan. Minister Haneef Atmar is also expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Besides the Afghan Peace Process, leaders from both sides will discuss the entire gamut of bilateral as well as strategic relationships between India and Afghanistan.

The visit of the Foreign minister comes days after the meeting of the extended ‘Troika’ meeting in Moscow that saw the participation of representatives of Russia, the United States, Pakistan, China and leaders from the Afghan government. However, India was not invited to the meeting.

The visit of the Afghan Foreign Minister to India holds utmost significance because it would set the tone for Joe Biden led US administration’s fresh approach to the Afghan peace process, which includes a crucial role of India.

It is the United States that has been pitching for India’s inclusion in the peace process to be a part of the mechanism. The US believes that as South Asia’s biggest player, there is no other country than India better suited to do so.

Moreover, Haneef Atmar’s visit would help India to figure out a way forward in the Afghan peace process.

India shares longstanding historical, cultural and civilizational links with Afghanistan and as far as India’s policy towards Afghanistan is concerned, it highly reflects India’s strong desire for stability in the war-torn country. Therefore, instability in Afghanistan will have repercussion on India.

Pertinently, continuous talks and negotiations are underway to bring peace in the ever so violent centric Afghanistan, from where the United States intends to withdraw its troops on May 1 this year. Conclusion:

It was on 12 September 2020 that the first official peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government began in Doha, Qatar. The next Afghan peace talk is slated to happen in April this year.