JOIN USAfghan President Ashraf Ghani will undertake his first official visit to India early next year, after his recent trip to Pakistan caused some unease in New Delhi.
Ghani had a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the 18th Saarc summit in Kathmandu. The new Afghan president is learnt to have told Modi that his government would do its bit to address New Delhi’s concerns over Pakistan’s persistent bid to use Afghanistan for a proxy war against India.
Modi and Ghani also discussed about security of Indian embassy in Kabul and consulates in Mazar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad, Herat and Kandahar in Afghanistan. The two leaders also took note of the past attacks on Embassy of India in Kabul and its consulates in Jalalabad and Herat by Pakistan-based terrorist organisations like Haqqani Network and Lashkar-e-Toiba.
External Affairs spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin told journalists that the prime minister was “repeatedly reassured” by the Afghan president that “nothing would be done to harm Indian security interests in Afghanistan”.
Ghani’s assurance to Modi was significant as his recent visit to Islamabad and his meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other developments fuelled speculation in India about a possible move by the new government to change Afghanistan’s policy towards its eastern neighbour.