New Delhi, Delhi, India
India and Russia held consultation on Afghanistan on Wednesday. In this, New Delhi pointed out that since Pakistan has links with Taliban and has been supporting international terror groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) and lashkar-e-taiba (LET), Islamabad has "special responsibility" to ensure that Afghan soil is not used to spread terrorism.
During the talks, India highlighted Pakistan's notorious spy agency ISI's links with LET and JEM, something that has been raised privately and publicly many times.
The talks were led by Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and the visiting Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, General Nikolay Patrushev. This is the first visit of Patrushev to any foreign country after emergence of Taliban as the dominant force in Afghanistan.
Both sides saw the issue of terrorism emanating from Afghanistan as a threat to India and Central Asia. Three central Asian states, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan share border with Afghanistan, and the fear is that crisis can impact them as well. Both New Delhi and Moscow share close ties with these central Asian countries, with Russia being a major security and economic partner due to soviet connect.
During the talks, India expressed concerns over security of Afghan minorities â Hindus and Sikhs. In August, India evacuated over 500 people, more of 200 of which were Afghans, mainly from minority â Hindus and Sikhs.
A release by the Russian embassy on Doval-Nikolay talks said, both sides, "touched upon humanitarian and migration problems in this country, as well as prospects for the Russian-Indian joint efforts aimed at creating conditions for launching a peaceful settlement process on the basis of an intra-Afghan dialogue."
While both sides agreed that " that there is a lot of uncertainty" as situation "evolves rapidly in Afghanistan", sources explained that they had convergence of views on many issues â like the need for Taliban to adhere to promises and commitments it had made âlike rights of women, minorities, flow of weapons to terror groups and smuggling across the Afghan border, Afghanistan becoming the hub of opium production and Islamic radicalization and extremism.
Both, Moscow and New Delhi, have decided to engage in concrete " forms of future bilateral cooperation" which includes close coordination, upgrading consultations and exchange of information.
The visiting top security official called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar. A release from the Indian PMO said, "Prime Minister expressed his appreciation for the visit of the Russian delegation led by Secretary Patrushev at a time when major changes are taking place in the region" and asked him to convey "his thanks to President Putin for his constant attention towards the India-Russia Partnership."
India, Russia consultations on Afghanistan in Delhi on Wednesday was a direct outcome of the Indian PM Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin's talks on 24th August. In the 45 minute long conversation, both decided to form a "permanent bilateral channel" for consultations on Afghanistan.
The Russian release of Patrushev's call on of PM Modi said, "The two Sides reaffirmed their intention to strengthen coordination in the field of enhancing the regional stability, including on the Afghan direction".