India invites key stakeholders including Pakistan for NSA …

Afghans line up outside the Iranian Embassy to request travel visas in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo: AP)

India has proposed to host an in-person meet of the National Security Advisors (NSA) on Afghanistan in Delhi in November. Key stakeholders in the region, including Russia, China, and Pakistan, have been invited to the meet.

India has proposed two dates-- November 10 and 11 ---for the meeting in the national capital.

The invitation has been extended to Pakistans NSA Moeed Yusuf at a time when there is increased tensions at the border of the two countries. But sources emphasise that all stakeholders have to be engaged to defuse the impending humanitarian and security crises in Afghanistan following the Taliban's takeover of the nation.

Meanwhile, India will participate in the Moscow Format meeting on Afghanistan on October 20, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.

While India had its first formal contact with the Taliban in Doha on August 31, the Moscow Format is likely to be the first formal contact between New Delhi and the Taliban government after an interim Cabinet was announced by them.

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On any humanitarian assistance India is extending or has extended to Afghanistan, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that India's policy towards Afghanistan is guided by its friendship with the Afghan people.

Earlier this month, Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla had said that India is willing to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and it has engaged with the representatives of the Taliban in Doha.

Speaking at the India Today Conclave 2021, the foreign secretary said, "We are willing to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and we have been a constructive partner in the development of the country, before the Taliban took over, investing over $3 billion."

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