India likely to host in-person NSA-level talks on Afghanistan, Pakistan also invited

India has proposed to host an in-person National security advisor (NSA) meet in Afghanistan in November. Many countries in the region and key stakeholders like Russia have been invited. The meet was to take place earlier this year, but could not happen. 

India is likely to host an in-person national security advisor (NSA) level regional conference in New Delhi on Afghanistan in November 2021. Pakistan will also be invited for the meeting. 

This will be the first-of-its-kind dialogue to be hosted by India on Afghanistan. The proposed dates for the dialogue reportedly are November 10-11. There is no official confirmation on the conference yet.

Significance

Pakistan's National security advisor Moeed Yusuf has reportedly been invited to the meet. If he confirms his attendance, this will be the first such visit of the Pakistani NSA to India. It would also be the first such high-level visit from Pakistan since 2016.

Both India's NSA Ajit Doval and Pakistani NSA were present for the Shanghai cooperation organization NSA meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan earlier this year but no bilateral meeting had taken place on the sidelines. 

Key Highlights 

•The proposed conference is likely to be in a format similar to the regional security conference that was held in Iran in 2019.

•The other nations that have reportedly been invited for the NSA-level meeting include countries in the neighbourhood of Afghanistan- Uzbekistan, China, Russia and Tajikistan. 

•Representatives from key players including the US and European nations such as France, Germany and the European Union are also expected to be invited for the conference. 

•Representatives from the United Nations are also expected to be invited for the conference.

•The key agenda of the conference will be terrorism and humanitarian assistance to Afghans.

Impact

The regional conference, if held, will be extremely significant as it aims to chart the future course of action on Afghanistan. India has made it clear that the new interim Taliban government should not allow Afghanistan to become a safe haven for terror. 

India has also emphasised that the rights of minorities, women and children must be protected in Afghanistan. India had not engaged with the Taliban through publicly-announced official channels until the takeover of Afghanistan. 

Background

India will also be sending high-ranking officials to the Moscow Format dialogue, which will be hosted by Russia on October 20, where Taliban representatives will also be present.