New Delhi: A strong focus on delivering Afghanistan from terrorism, a truly inclusive government that represented the will of the people and unimpeded humanitarian assistance formed the core of the “complete consensus” that India’s regional NSA-level conference arrived at Wednesday in the form of a Delhi Declaration.
The Declaration emphasized that Afghanistan’s territory shouldn’t be used for “sheltering, training, planning or financing” any terrorist act while reiterating support for a peaceful, secure and stable Afghanistan.
With several countries sharing concerns about terrorist groups active in Afghanistan and their benefactors, it also stressed respect for sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity and also non-interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.
The conference chaired by NSA Ajit Doval saw the participants discussing the evolving security situation in Afghanistan and its regional and global implications while calling for efforts to ensure Afghanistan didn’t turn into a safe haven for global terrorism. Official sources said participating countries acknowledged India’s concerns over cross-border terrorism perpetrated by Pakistan based groups who are also active in Afghanistan, The Times of India reported.
According to sources, the participants also stressed that no one should boycott the NSA dialogue process due to the “bilateral agenda”. Both China and Pakistan had turned down India’s invite to the conference. The NSAs also called on PM Narendra Modi.
The conference saw participation, besides India, by 7 countries, including Russia and Iran. It is seen as an important step by India to underline its role in regional efforts for peace and stability in Afghanistan and to remain relevant despite the Kabul takeover by a traditionally inimical Taliban. Russia, as Doval said in his opening remarks, was the initiator of the idea for a conference.
