Afghanistan Times
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AT Monitoring Desk
KABUL: Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, Abdullah Abdullah, will be visiting India from October 6 for four days, Indian media reported. The top peace negotiator representing the Afghan government in the talks with the Taliban that started in 12th September in Doha.
This is his first visit to New Delhi in the current position and he is expected to meet top officials of the Indian government. Joint Secretary, PAI or Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran division of Ministry of External Affairs, JP Singh had met Abdullah on the sidelines of Intra Afghan ceremony on September 12 in Doha.
At the ceremony, India’s External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar had said, “Interests of minorities, women and vulnerable sections of society must be preserved and the issue of violence across the country and its neighbourhood has to be effectively addressed.”
India was present along with around 30 countries at the ceremony.
India’s policy towards the Afghan peace process is that it should be Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled and “respect the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan.”
Even as peace talks in Afghanistan have gained momentum, India has increased its reach out to a number of stakeholders in the country. September saw a visit by Afghan leader Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum, during which he met Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar and Foreign secretary Harsh Shringla.
