Afghanistan's Abdullah Abdullah denies discussing 'India's military role in peace talks'

Afghanistan’s peace council chief Dr Abdullah Abdullah said that he didn’t discuss India’s military role in Afghanistan during his extensive talks with the Indian leadership over the peace process. Dr Abdullah is on a five-day visit to India to muster regional support for the Afghan peace process and has met several top Indian leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister, to discuss the matter.

"No. Absolutely not. I did not raise that idea. The point is that we hope that Afghanistan will be able to stand on its own feet," Abdullah told ANI after being asked whether any probable military role of India was discussed.

The intra-Afghan negotiations kicked off in Doha under the chairmanship of the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs on September 12. During the opening ceremony, Abdullah thanked the Taliban for showing “willingness to negotiate” to end 19 years of war. However, the spotlight from the peace talks has faded after the lavish opening ceremony since the warring parties continue to disagree on even basic issues. 

Read: New Indian Envoy Meets Afghanistan President Ghani, Both Sides Discuss Peace Process

Read: 'India Remains Committed To Peace, Prosperity & Stability In Afghanistan': S Jaishankar

Abdullah on terrorist activities

Dr Abdullah said that an effective peace deal does not only mean agreement with the Taliban if terrorist groups like Al Qaeda and Islamic State continue with their terror activities in the region. Afghanistan’s chief negotiator of the peace process said that the people of Afghanistan are expecting a settlement under which no terrorist group will be able to work on or use Afghan soil against any other country.

“Peaceful Afghanistan, democratic Afghanistan, not harbouring terrorist, this is the concerns of lots of countries of the region," he said when asked about India’s concern over Pakistan-backed terror groups.

On October 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Dr Abdullah in the national capital and took stock of the latest development on the peace process. PM Modi said that the two leaders had productive talks on various aspects of the India-Afghanistan friendship and assured India’s support in their “quest for peace.”

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(With ANI inputs)