Venkatesh Iyer
NEW DELHI, Sep 14: Mohammed Haneef Atmar, the acting Foreign Minister, Afghanistan today expressed gratitude and was appreciative of India’s commitment and solidarity with Afghanistan.
In a tweet, Atmar appreciated External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for reaffirming India’s support for peace and to the people of Afghanistan.
“My sincere appreciation to HE EAM @DrSJaishankar and @MEAIndia for reaffirming India’s support for peace and the free will of the Afghan people. We profoundly remain grateful to India’s commitment and solidarity with Afghanistan,” Atmar tweeted.
This message was in response to India’s involvement in peace talks between the Afghanistan government and the Taliban in Doha Qatar from Saturday.
Jaishankar had participated virtually during the opening ceremony of Afghan peace negotiations in Doha and reiterated that Afghan soil should never be used for carrying out anti-India activities and supported the need for an immediate ceasefire in order to establish long-lasting peace in Afghanistan.
Taking to Twitter after addressing the meeting, the External Affairs Minister had said, “Addressed the conference on Afghan peace negotiations at Doha today. Conveyed that the peace process must be Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled, respect national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan, promote human rights and democracy, ensure the interest of minorities, women and the vulnerable and effectively address violence across the country.”
Meanwhile, a peace negotiating team instituted by Afghanistan that included Mohammad Masson Stanekzai, Ahmad Nader Nadery, Ms. Fawzia Koofi, Zarar Ahmad Moqbel, Malawi Enayatullah Baligh, Mohammad Nateqi and Mohammad Khalid Noor have been moving around meeting the negotiating team of Taliban.
Ahmad Nader Nadery the chairman of Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission tweeted, “The two negotiation teams met after the opening ceremony to get to know each other better. Each team introduced a contact group who will be discussing rules & procedures as well as agenda of the first round of talks”.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Mullah Baradar, the head of the Taliban’s Qatar office and Qatar’s Foreign Minister and later tweeted “pleased to meet Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation @SrabdullahCE & Foreign Minister @MHaneefAtmar in Doha at the launch of historic peace negotiations. The Afghan people yearn for peace and have never been this close to ending 40 years of war.”
This message was also acknowledged by Mohammed Haneef in Twitter. “Thank you Secretary @SecPompeo. We very much appreciate the US support for peace and its friendship with Afghanistan. We commend your personal effort in this regard. Afghanistan is committed to peace and the state represents the will and the aspirations of the Afghan people.”
