Jaishankar meets Afghan foreign minister ahead of key SCO meet

Dushanbe: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday met his Afghan counterpart Mohammad Haneef Atmar and discussed the situation in the war-torn country. Jaishankar arrived in the Tajik capital on Tuesday for a two-day visit to attend the meetings of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Foreign Ministers and the SCO Contact Group on Afghanistan. “Began my Dushanbe visit by meeting with Afghan FM @MHaneefAtmar. Appreciate his update on recent developments. Looking forward to the meeting of the SCO Contact Group on Afghanistan tomorrow,” Jaishankar tweeted. The SCO contact group meeting on Afghanistan assumes significance as it comes amidst growing global concerns over Taliban fighters rapidly seizing control of a large number of areas in Afghanistan. India has evacuated around 50 diplomats and security personnel from its consulate in Kandahar in a military aircraft in the wake of intense fighting between Afghan forces and Taliban militants. Afghanistan has witnessed a series of terror attacks in the last few weeks as the US looked to complete the withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan by August-end, ending a nearly two-decade of its military presence in the war-ravaged country. India has been a major stakeholder in the peace and stability of Afghanistan. It has already invested nearly $3 billion in aid and reconstruction activities in the country. India has been supporting a national peace and reconciliation process which is Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled.