Kashmir Digits

India will be hosting a national security advisor(NSA) level meeting on Afghanistan next month with Pakistan and China set to be invited.

The tentative dates of the proposed in-person dialogue are November 10-11 and the format will be similar to the regional security conference held in Iran in 2019, the reports said. 

The ANI report said that the invitation has been extended to Pakistan’s NSA Moeed Yusuf, though there is no official confirmation.

If Pakistan agrees to attend the NSA-level conference, it would mark the first visit by incumbent NSA Yusuf to India, the report said. It is, however, contrary to Pakistan’s policy to attend a conference on Afghanistan where there will be no representation from the Taliban.

The conference will take place after New Delhi and Taliban representatives meet face-to-face in Russia on the Moscow Format, to be held on October 20. 

There will be no Taliban representative attending New Delhi’s conference as reports said that India is wary of hosting the Taliban as the group is yet to address international concerns of inclusivity on the government and human rights by the government.

The first official contact between New Delhi and the Taliban was on August 31 when the ambassador of India to Qatar, Deepak Mittal, met Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the head of Taliban’s political office in Doha. That meeting took place at the Embassy of India in Doha at the request of the Taliban side.