Doval visits Kabul over US call to India to play bigger role in Afghanistan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval visited Kabul on Monday, even as Pakistan fumed over the United States’ recent call to India to play a greater role in stabilising Afghanistan.

Doval called on Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and met his counterpart National Security Advisor of Afghanistan Hanif Atmar. He also called on Abdullah Abdullah, Afghan Government chief executive.

“Both sides welcomed the opportunities created by the new US strategy for bringing peace and security in Afghanistan. It was agreed to further strengthen strategic dialogue and consultations for achieving the shared objectives,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement in New Delhi.

Doval also conveyed to Afghan president an invitation from Modi to visit India.

New Delhi and Kabul emphasised that “bilateral and sincere regional cooperation” was “important for peace, security and stability in the region” — sending out a tacit message to Islamabad to stop allowing Taliban, Haqqani Network, Lashkar-e-Toiba and other terrorist organisations to use Pakistan as the base to conduct terror attacks in Afghanistan.

Doval’s visit to Kabul came close on the heels of Afghan chief executive’s tour to New Delhi from September 28 to 30.

Modi and Abdullah had witnessed signing of an agreement by the two governments for training the police personnel of Afghanistan in India.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had called on Afghan President on the sideline of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 21. She had last month hosted Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani in New Delhi.

“It was agreed to further strengthen strategic dialogue and consultations for achieving the shared objectives,” the MEA said.

The back-to-back engagements between New Delhi and Kabul followed American President Donald Trump’s call to India to play a greater role in Afghanistan to help stabilise the conflict-ravaged country.

India welcomed the US President’s decision in August to step up efforts to decimate Taliban, Islamic State, Al Qaeda and other terror networks in Afghanistan and his tough-talks asking Pakistan to stop providing safe havens to Taliban and other terror networks operating in the region. Trump also irked Pakistan by calling for India's greater role in Afghanistan.