S Jaishankar met Ashraf Ghani on Monday and had a discussion on Afghan peace process.
Dushanbe:
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani on Monday and had a discussion on the Afghan peace process.
“Honour to call on President @ashrafghani before the commencement of @HeartofAsia_IPConference. Shared our perspectives on the peace process,” Jaishankar tweeted.
Jaishankar and Ghani are in Dushanbe to attend the ninth Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process conference.
Tajikistan is hosting the conference which is focused on strengthening a regional and international consensus for Afghan peace.
Last week, Afghan Foreign Minister Haneef Atmar visited India and held-back-to-back talks with Jaishankar and NSA Ajit Doval.
In New Delhi, the Afghan Foreign Minister during his meeting with Jaishankar on the peace process, the two sides reviewed the Troika Peace Meeting in Moscow and assessed the final declaration of the meeting as positive for strengthening and advancing the peace process.
During the meeting with NSA, both discussed the peace plan of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan for the success of Afghanistan peace negotiations.
The Afghan minister said the plan would pave the way for a lasting peace based on the will of the Afghan people and strengthen Afghanistan’s role as a bridge for connectivity and cooperation between regional countries and the international community.
Russia early this month hosted the international conference on Afghanistan. Russia, the United States, China and Pakistan released a joint statement calling on the Afghan sides to reach a peace deal and curb violence, and on the Taliban not to launch any offensives in the spring and summer.
Recently, it was reported that the US is reviewing the Doha agreement with the Taliban while also keeping all options on the table when it comes to the May 1st deadline for withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Doha agreement was signed in Feburary 2020 between the Taliban and United States with an aim to end the 18-year old conflict in Afghanistan.
The agreement calls for a full US withdrawal from Afghanistan if the terror group upholds counterterrorism commitments such as denying safe haven to al Qaeda.
Meanwhile, the Taliban warned the United States on Friday against defying a May 1 deadline for the withdrawal of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan, promising a “reaction” though failing to specify exactly what it would be.