New Delhi : A senior official from India is participating in the Afghan peace talks in Doha as the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that it has evacuated all its staff from Mazar-e-Sharif amid a Taliban attack.
The situation in Afghanistan deteriorated today as the Taliban captured the tenth provincial capital Ghazni.
Joint Secretary (Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran) J P Singh in the Ministry of External Affairs is participating in the talks on the Afghanistan peace process on Thursday, the MEA said.
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, to a question, said that Qatar Special Envoy Mutlaq bin Majed Al-Qahtani during his visit to India last week, and his meeting with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, had invited India to participate in the Doha talks.
He said that Singh is in Doha today and is participating in the Doha peace talks on Afghanistan.
Qahtani had met Jaishankar here on Saturday during which the EAM had shared India’s perspectives on the recent developments in the war-torn country.
“The rapid deterioration of the security situation is a serious matter. A peaceful and stable Afghanistan requires that the rights and interests of all sections of society are promoted and protected,” Jaishankar had said.
Qahtani, the Special Envoy of the Foreign Minister of Qatar for Counter-terrorism and Mediation of Conflict Resolution, had also met Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla.
On Friday he had met J. P. Singh “and exchanged views on the current situation in Afghanistan and recent developments in the Afghan peace process,” the sources said.
Jaishankar, in a tweet on Saturday, said he was pleased to receive the Qatar Special Envoy. “Shared the Indian perspective on recent developments in Afghanistan. Also the concerns of the region that I heard during recent interactions.”
UNI
