Delhi security dialogue on Afghan crisis : Afghan land should not be used for terror

New Delhi: India, Russia, Iran and five Central Asian countries on Wednesday vowed to work for ensuring that Afghanistan does not become a "safe haven for global terrorism" and called for the formation of an open and truly inclusive government in Kabul during a meeting of their top security officials here.

At the end of the India-hosted security dialogue to review the unfolding situation in Afghanistan, a declaration was adopted by these eight nations, reaffirming that Afghan territory shouldn't be used for sheltering, training, planning or financing terrorist activities.

Significantly, the declaration also emphasised the need for respecting the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Afghanistan and non-interference in its internal affairs, seen as an indirect message to Pakistan. The Delhi Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan expressed concern over the deteriorating socio-economic and humanitarian situation in that country and underlined the need to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people. The security officials also said that humanitarian assistance should be provided in an unimpeded, direct and assured manner to Afghanistan and that the assistance is distributed within the country in a non-discriminatory manner across all sections of the Afghan society.

The Central Asian countries that attended the dialogue are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. In his opening remarks, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, who also chaired the meeting, said the recent developments in that country have important implications not only for Afghan people but also for the region.

China said on Wednesday that it will attend a meeting on Afghanistan convened by its all-weather ally Pakistan, after skipping a security dialogue hosted by India on the situation in the war-torn country, citing "scheduling reasons".

Pakistan will host senior diplomats from the US, China and Russia in Islamabad on Thursday to discuss the situation in neighbouring Afghanistan. The Troika Plus meeting will be attended by special representatives from all four countries.