NSA Ajit Doval set the tone for India’s conference on Afghanistan with discussions Tuesday on enhanced terror threat from the country, and also the looming humanitarian crisis it’s facing, with his Tajikistan and Uzbekistan counterparts, Nasrullo Mahmudzoda and Viktor Makhmudov respectively. Both central Asian countries share a border with Afghanistan and have concerns similar to India’s on issues like terrorism and the need for an inclusive government in Kabul. The threat from terrorism, the need for a legitimate government and urgent response to the unfolding humanitarian crisis are issues likely to dominate India’s Afghanistan conference on Wednesday. For India, despite the absence of China and Pakistan, the conference is an important step for underlining its role in regional efforts for peace and security in Afghanistan and also its commitment to the Afghan people in addressing the humanitarian challenges faced by them. Shortly after the conference, India will also host US special representative for Afghanistan Thomas West.
Without naming Pakistan official sources said, India and Uzbekistan emphasised the need for Afghanistan’s neighbours to ensure unhindered access to humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan. They were also said to have agreed that neighbouring states must play a constructive role in Afghanistan.
With Pakistan yet to approve India’s proposal for transporting 50,000 MT of wheat to Afghanistan through the land route, India has been emphasising the need for urgent and unhindered access to humanitarian aid for the people of Afghanistan. In the meeting with Tajikistan, both sides expressed concerns about the “sharp increase in terrorist threats’’ from Afghanistan in the recent past with the Tajik side highlighting, as government sources said, the gravity of the situation in Afghanistan.
