Who you talking about?: Pakistan NSA's blunt refusal to attend India meet piques netizens

In a significant development, Pakistan on Tuesday declined India's invitation to attend the national security advisor (NSA)-level dialogue scheduled next week. According to news agency ANI, Pakistan's NSA Dr Moeed Yusuf confirmed that he will not accept India's invitation to attend the in-person conference which will see NSAs from Russia, Iran, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan holding a discussion on the Afghanistan crisis. 

The news was confirmed by the Pakistan NSA during the signing of the security agreement with Uzbekistan, Pakistani financial newspaper Business Recorder reported. Answering a question on whether Pakistan has accepted India's invitation to attend the conference, Dr Moeed Yusuf said, "I will not go."

Previously, Pakistan had acknowledged that it had received an invitation from India for the meeting, however, refrained from confirming whether it would attend or not. The country had been invited for the high-level meeting in spite of reports establishing its open collusion with the Taliban which caused significant damage to resistance forces in Panjshir. In the aftermath of the fall, Imran Khan's government had made repeated appeals to the international community to recognise the legitimacy of the Taliban-led government. Its decision to skip the NSA-level meeting organised by India further establishes its position on the Taliban takeover. 

Twitter reacts to Pakistan NSA's comment

Details about the NSA-level meeting

In a first-of-its-kind, India is expected to hold an in-person dialogue on Afghanistan with members from countries whose interests are at stake due to Taliban presence in Kabul. According to ANI, the high-level security talks, organised by the National Security Council Secretariat, welcomed Russia, Iran, Pakistan, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The tentative dates for the high-level regional security talks have been announced to be held on 10-11 November and invites have been sent out to the aforementioned countries.

Last month, both India and Pakistan had attended the Moscow Format meet on Afghanistan, however, did not hold any bilateral talks outside of the conference. Russia had invited representatives of the Taliban government to be a part of the Format. For India, the Moscow Front meeting assumed great significance as it was New Delhi's first formal contact with the Taliban since it announced an interim cabinet.

Image: ANI/AP