Dozens of Envoys Talk Peace in Afghanistan

Kanwal Sibal, a former Indian foreign secretary, said the foreign minister’s visit showed the Modi government had softened its hardline stance towards Pakistan after realising that the lack of sustained talks yielded no returns.

Tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have spiked over the past two years, with cross-border shelling over their disputed border in Kashmir claiming dozens of lives since 2014.

President Ghani will also hold bilateral meeting with Prime Minster Nawaz Sharif to discuss key issues, focusing on peace process in Afghanistan. “I came here with the hope for improved ties between the two countries”, she added. Aziz warmly received Sushma and both shared the same table during the dinner.

Insisting on good progress of the summit since it was launched in 2011, Aziz said the summit provides an opportunity to member countries in result-oriented engagements for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan, and a secure and prosperous region as a whole.

At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit held in Ufa, Russia, in July, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had invited Modi to attend the SAARC summit next year which the latter had accepted.

But the relationship appears to have thawed after Modi and Sharif resumed high-level contacts with a brief conversation at a climate change summit in Paris last week and their national security advisers met in Bangkok on Sunday.

“The Indian side was assured of the steps being taken to expedite the early conclusion of the Mumbai trial”, Wednesday’s statement said.

“The normalization of relations between those two countries is vital not only to them but to the region, so we once again encourage this kind of dialogue”, he said.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s visit to Pakistan was also discussed in the meeting.

On Wednesday, Swaraj will attend the Heart of Asia Istanbul Process conference, which aims at shoring up support for war-ravaged Afghanistan.

Zarif arrived in the Pakistani capital on Tuesday to participate in the Western Asia session of “Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process” conference.

“In view of these challenges, we strongly believe that today, like never before, regional and worldwide circumstances require a united and collective approach in the fight against the scourge of terrorism and extremism”, Karzai said.

Saluting the Afghan people and their national security forces for countering terrorism with courage and resilience, Swaraj called for global support of the worldwide community to defend Afghanistan’s security.

“A$3 Conducive political and security environment is vital for promoting regional economic cooperaiton and connectivity”, said Aziz. “It seems the country is being betrayed”, he added. Swaraj’s in Islamabad to participate in the Heart of Asia Conference on peace and stability in Afghanistan.

“Our region is mired in dire security challenges which are hampering our socio-economic development”.