China too may not take part in conference
Pakistan on Tuesday played spoilsport by declining India’s invite for a meeting here on November 10 to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. The National Security Advisers (NSA) of India, Pakistan, China, Russia, Iran, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan were to take part in the meeting. China may also not take part in the meet.
Rejecting India’s invite, Pakistan’s NSA Moeed Yusuf said on Tuesday he will not attend the meeting as there will be no representation by the Taliban.
As reported in The Pioneer on October 18, as a major stakeholder in ensuring peace in Afghanistan, India was planning to host a meeting of the NSAs of the countries in the neighbourhood, including Pakistan. However, New Delhi is, so far, reluctant to extend the invitation to Taliban.
Sources said the Pakistani NSA declined to attend the meet to be hosted by Indian NSA Ajit Doval and said his country will not attend any meeting where there is no representation from the Taliban regime from Afghanistan.
Addressing a Press conference in Pakistan, when asked if he planned to visit India for the talks, Yusuf also said, “I will not go. A spoiler cannot play the role of peacemaker.”
The three-day meet is likely now to go ahead without representation from Pakistan, sources said, adding China may also not attend the conference.
Addressing a Press conference on Tuesday in Pakistan after signing a security protocol agreement with Uzbekistan, Yusuf said, “It may be a luxury for the Western world sitting 10,000 miles away (to not bother about Afghanistan) but we do not have any option to disengage from Afghanistan.”
Explaining Pakistan’s support for the Taliban dispensation in Kabul, the NSA said the world needs to engage with them in order to prevent a humanitarian crisis.
“This is not a matter of the Taliban or some other Government but of the ordinary Afghan (citizens) … We are the biggest victim of this (instability in Afghanistan) so when we talk about stability in Afghanistan then one (reason) is that it is the right of our Afghan brothers and sisters. But secondly it is also necessary for our national security that there is stability in Afghanistan and continuous peace is established,” Yusuf said.
The forthcoming NSAs meeting will be held in person between the NSAs of these countries. India invited Yusuf for the proposed meeting of the NSAs. Pakistan has all along insisted that talks on Afghanistan must have the presence of the Taliban.
Sources said the meeting between the NSAs was in the pipeline even before the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. The corona pandemic delayed the crucial meet regarding that nation.