India commits itself to help restore peace in Afghanistan
Speaking at the 9th edition of Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process in Dushanbe, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said, "India welcomes any move towards a genuine political settlement and a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire in Afghanistan. We appreciate the international recognition of foundational principles that will determine their contours."
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FollowIndia on Tuesday extended support to the United States' proposal for a regional peace process on Afghanistan, involving the foreign ministers of Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, India and the United States under the United Nations umbrella.
Speaking at the 9th edition of Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process in Dushanbe, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said, "India welcomes any move towards a genuine political settlement and a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire in Afghanistan. We appreciate the international recognition of foundational principles that will determine their contours."
"We support a regional process to be convened under the aegis of the United Nations. UN stewardship would help to take into account all relevant UN resolutions and improve the odds for a lasting outcome," he said.
In a letter to Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken proposed convening a United Nations-facilitated conference with foreign ministers and envoys from Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, India and the United States "to discuss a unified approach to supporting peace in Afghanistan."
"A stable, sovereign and peaceful Afghanistan is truly the basis for peace and progress in our region. Ensuring that it is free of terrorism, violent extremism and drug and criminal syndicates are, therefore, a collective imperative," he added.
Talking about the ongoing situation in Afghanistan, the minister said that violence and bloodshed are daily realities and the conflict itself has shown little sign of abatement, whatever may be the promises.
"The last few months have also witnessed an escalation in targeted killings of civil society. 2020 sadly marked a 45 per cent increase in civilian casualties in Afghanistan over 2019. 2021 does not look very much better," Jaishankar said.
Raising concern about the bloodshed in the country, he said, "The continued involvement of foreign fighters in Afghanistan is particularly disturbing. Heart of Asia members and supporting countries should, therefore, make it a priority to press for an immediate reduction in the violence leading to a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire."
For a durable peace in Afghanistan, "what we need is a genuine double peace, that is, peace within Afghanistan and peace around Afghanistan. It requires harmonizing the interests of all, both within and around that country," the minister said.
India has been supportive of all the efforts being made to accelerate the dialogue between the Afghan government and the Taliban, including intra-Afghan negotiations, he said.
Speaking about India's role in the development of Afghanistan, he added India remains committed to steadfastly supporting Afghanistan during this transition.
"Our development partnership of $3 billion, including more than 550 Community Development Projects covering all 34 provinces, is aimed at making Afghanistan a self-sustaining nation. The promise of more drinking water to Kabul is the latest in that list."
Further, he assured that India will continue to work on improving Afghanistan’s connectivity with the outside world.
"Projects like the Chahhabar Port in Iran and the dedicated Air Freight Corridor between the cities of India and Afghanistan are part of our efforts. I am glad to note the keen interest of our friends from Central Asia to be a part of these initiatives," Jaishankar added.
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