Pakistan and China have refused to participate in the Delhi Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan. The dialogue will see National Security Advisors (NSAs) of all Central Asian nations coming together to discuss the prevailing situation in Afghanistan where the Taliban took control after the exit of American forces. This will be the first such meeting of the NSAs after the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban in August.
The NSAs of Russia, Iran and five central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) will explore framing up a common approach for practical cooperation in confronting the threats of terrorism, radicalisation and drug trafficking after the Taliban took control of the landlocked nation. The dialogue will begin on November 10. The dialogue will be chaired by NSA Ajit Doval. Doval will also hold bilateral talks with his counterparts.
China has communicated that it will be unable to attend the conclave because of scheduling issues, according to news agency PTI. Pakistan too has said that it will skip the dialogue.
"All the participating countries want to be a part of the solution to the problem. You cannot probably say this about Pakistan,'' said a source, according to PTI. They said dealing with the challenges of terrorism, radicalisation, drug trafficking, cross-border movement of people and threats emanating from military weapons left behind by US forces will be discussed at length at the dialogue.
The sources said the central Asian countries are not ready for any 'export of ideology' from Afghanistan into their societies. The security officials are expected to deliberate on cross-border movement of people from Afghanistan as well as the threat emerging from the military equipment and weapons left behind by the US forces in that country.
"The high-level dialogue will review the security situation in the region arising from recent developments in Afghanistan. It will deliberate upon measures to address the relevant security challenges and support the people of Afghanistan in promoting peace, security and stability," the MEA said in a statement.
The MEA said India has traditionally enjoyed close and friendly ties with the people of Afghanistan and has called for a unified international response to address the security and humanitarian challenges facing Afghanistan.
"The forthcoming meeting is a step in that direction," it said. The sources said none of the participating countries has recognised the Taliban and all of them have similar concerns and worries over the situation in Afghanistan. They said there was a credibility gap between Pakistan's actions and intentions on Afghanistan.
On China skipping the dialogue, the sources said though it is not attending the conclave because of the scheduling difficulties, it has conveyed its readiness to maintain contacts with India on Afghanistan through bilateral and multilateral channels. "We would have been happy if China attended it but perhaps the CPC Central Committee meeting could be one reason they were unable to attend," said the source.
Pakistan had refused to attend the previous editions of the dialogue of the NSAs in Iran in 2018 and 2019 citing India's participation, the sources said.
The Taliban has not been invited as India as well as other participants do not recognise the current establishment in Afghanistan, they said, adding that issues relating to humanitarian aid are definitely going to be part of the discussions.
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