New Delhi: Hamdullah Mohib, the National Security Advisor (NSA) of Afghanistan, met his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval Thursday and discussed the upcoming results the country’s September general elections and the revival of the United States’ peace talks with the Taliban, ThePrint has learnt.
The Afghan NSA, who is on a two-day visit to India, also discussed his government’s plans to begin talks with the Taliban once the US-led peace talks are over, sources told ThePrint.
“NSA HE @hmohib met Indian NSA HE Ajit Doval during his visit to India. They discussed bilateral ties & security cooperation. The NSA said there are potentials for both countries to work together in various fronts (sic),” the Afghan embassy tweeted.
The embassy further said that both sides “extended discussion on counter-terrorism efforts and peace”. “The Indian NSA welcomed Dr. Mohib & stressed collective commitment by all countries to fight terrorism. He iterated India is willing to cooperate in this regard,” it said.
Sources added that Mohib assured Doval that India’s opinions and proposals would be considered as and when the intra-Afghan dialogue begins, which is a key feature in Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s proposed seven-point plan.
The plan includes the Afghan government speaking to the US, the Taliban, as well as Pakistan and other stakeholders.
The Afghan NSA also discussed steps taken by his government to ensure that the results of the September general elections are released soon and in a transparent manner.
In an interview to ThePrint earlier this week, Tahir Qadiry, Chargé d’Affaires at the Afghan embassy, said the preliminary results by the Independent Election Commission (IEC) would be announced “soon”.
The preliminary results were originally scheduled to be announced on 19 October, and then on 14 November.
Last week, Afghanistan presidential candidate and current Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah had said that he would allow a recounting of the ballot in those areas where his supporters had not let it happen.
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Resurrection of Taliban peace talks
Mohib is believed to have apprised Doval of the current “state of play” in the talks between the Taliban leaders and Zalmay Khalilzad, the US envoy for reconciliation in Afghanistan. The talks took place in Qatar, where the Taliban has an office, earlier this week.
The US had called off the Taliban talks and refused to sign the so-called peace deal in September after American soldiers were attacked and killed.
Khalilzad, in a series of tweets Wednesday, said he had wrapped up his two-day trip to Kabul. He called it a “productive trip”, during which he met President Ghani, Abdullah Abdullah, former President Hamid Karzai and several women’s rights activists, besides other political leaders.
“We discussed efforts to achieve reduced violence and pave the way to intra-Afghan negotiations,” he tweeted.
Vivek Katju, a veteran diplomat and former Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan, said: “The US cannot afford to walk out of the talks just like that. They will have to finish it no matter what.”
Mohib is expected to visit India again next month to take part in the ‘Raisina Dialogue’ event, during which he will once again meet Doval, as well as other Indian leaders.
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