India attends Uzbekistan-hosted conference on situation in Afghanistan

New Delhi, Jul 25 (PTI) India on Monday joined around 20 countries in deliberating on the overall situation in Afghanistan on the opening day of a two-day conference hosted by Uzbekistan at its capital city Tashkent.

India was represented at the gathering by senior diplomat JP Singh, the external affairs ministry’s point person for Afghanistan, people familiar with the development said.

It is learnt that Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi is attending the conference titled ‘Afghanistan: Security and Economic Development’.

Last week, Uzbekistan said the meeting is aimed at developing a set of measures and proposals for the approaches of the world community to promote stability, security, post-conflict reconstruction in Afghanistan.

It said representatives from several parts of the world, including Central and South Asia, Europe, Middle-East and the Asia-Pacific region, are participating in deliberations to find a solution to the Afghan issue.

“The conference is aimed at developing a set of measures and proposals for the approaches of the world community to promote stability, security, post-conflict reconstruction in Afghanistan and its integration into regional cooperation processes,” it said in a statement.

It said the aim of the conference include forming a common position by the world community in countering terrorism, ensuring constructive dialogue between the current dispensation in Kabul and Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries.

It is learnt that around 20 countries are attending the conference.

“Our country is committed to establishing lasting peace in neighbouring Afghanistan and considers this process an important condition for achieving sustainable development in the Central Asian region,” a statement by the Uzbek government said.

India has been in touch with several leading powers on the situation in Afghanistan.

Last month, India re-established its diplomatic presence in Kabul by deploying a “technical team” in its embassy in the Afghan capital.

India had withdrawn its officials from the embassy after the Taliban seized power last August following concerns over their security.

The reopening of the embassy came weeks after an Indian team led by Singh visited Kabul and met Muttaqi and some other members of the Taliban dispensation.

In the meeting, the Taliban side had assured the Indian team that adequate security will be provided if India sends its officials to the embassy in Kabul.

India has not recognised the new regime in Afghanistan and has been pitching for the formation of a truly inclusive government in Kabul besides insisting that Afghan soil must not be used for any terrorist activities against any country.

In the last few months, India supplied several consignments of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.

India has been pitching for providing unimpeded humanitarian aid to Afghanistan to address the unfolding humanitarian crisis in the country.

Concerned over developments in Afghanistan, India hosted a regional dialogue on the situation in the country last November that was attended by NSAs of Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The participating countries vowed to work towards ensuring that Afghanistan does not become a safe haven for global terrorism and called for the formation of an “open and truly inclusive” government in Kabul with representation from all sections of Afghan society.