India, Pakistan to commence comprehensive bilateral dialogue, announces Sushma

Aziz greeted Swaraj warmly and both engaged in a brief conversation.

Speaking at “Heart of Asia” ministerial conference on Afghanistan, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj also asked the worldwide community to ensure that the forces of terrorism and extremism do not find sanctuaries and safe havens in “any name, form or manifestation”.

Delhi suspended all talks after Islamist gunmen attacked the Indian city of Mumbai in November 2008, killing 166 people. Earlier, Sartaj Aziz, reiterated, “Pakistan wants durable peace and stability in Afghanistan”.

The two countries agreed to resume the peace process in 2011 but tensions have spiked over the past two years, with cross-border shelling over the disputed border in Kashmir claiming dozens of lives since 2014.

Ms Swaraj, who was accompanied by Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, and India’s envoys to Pakistan and Afghanistan, met Mr Ghani for almost 30 minutes on the sidelines of the “Heart of Asia” Conference, during which they also talked about India’s willingness to join Afghanistan-Pakistan trade and transit agreement.

“The good news is they’ve agreed to resume what they call “comprehensive dialogue” and really all the subjects are the same”, she said.

“Unfortunately, recent events in Pakistan have forced us to host 350,000 to 500,000 refugees from Pakistan… the refugee issue is a common issue, like all issues”, Ghani said. During his talks with Sushma, Aziz said he would discuss various matters with focus on resumption of composite dialogue process between the two countries.

Kabul puts blame for the attacks on Islamabad, which is believed to have a degree of influence on the Taliban leadership.

He said that confidence-building measures laid down in the Istanbul Process charter were “leading to enhanced regional engagement and cooperation” between “Heart of Asia” countries, especially Afghanistan. The normally sleepy capital was alive with high-ranking delegations from 14 participating states, 17 supporting countries and 12 global and regional organisations, making a beeline for the conference. beeline for the conference.

“The Chinese side… hopes that the Afghan government will overcome difficulties and stick to the peace talks with the Taliban”, Wang Yi was quoted as saying by Chinese state media.