India and Pakistan joined the US and UN in participating in a peace forum on Afghanistan organised by Norway amid the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in the war-ravaged country.
Held under Chatham House rules, the talks apparently focused on all pressing issues in Afghanistan including terrorism and the need for the Taliban to fulfil their commitments on facilitating education and employment for girls and women and ensuring a more representative and inclusive government in Kabul.
India is among the countries that continue to dispatch food and medicines in aid to Afghanistan, even as they refrain from officially recognising the Taliban dispensation in Kabul.
India last year also reopened its embassy to coordinate distribution of humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people. Apart from the 40,000 MT of wheat it sent to Afghanistan via the land border with Pakistan, the Indian government has committed to supplying 20,000 MT of more wheat through the Chabahar port in Iran.
This was the first time that India participated in the Norway’s Oslo Forum for peace talks on Afghanistan. India and Pakistan have earlier participated in the Moscow Format talks and also in the dialogue in Doha.
As reported by TOI on May 15, acknowledging the need to deepen ties with India, the Taliban last month also appointed their first envoy to India, although the appointment is yet to be effected because of resistance by Afghan diplomats from the previous Ashraf Ghani regime who remain in control of the Afghanistan embassy in Delhi.
While senior officials from India and Pakistan attended the meeting, the US was represented by its special envoy Tom West. While seeking a terror-free Afghanistan, India has also urged the Taliban to allow education for girls and employment for women saying this will have a positive social impact and discourage radical ideologies among youth.
Norway invited three civil servant-level individuals working for the Afghan de facto authorities in Kabul to this year’s Oslo Forum, according to a Reuters report from Oslo. “They met Afghan civil society and representatives from other countries to discuss the situation in Afghanistan,” Norwegian foreign minister Anniken Huitfeldt said.
“Isolating Afghanistan now will be unfortunate, both for the Afghan people and for the international community. It could worsen the situation in Afghanistan, and it could let … groups such as the ISKP get a stronger foothold in the country. This would also pose a security risk for Europe,” Huitfeldt told the agency, referring to Islamic State.
Held under Chatham House rules, the talks apparently focused on all pressing issues in Afghanistan including terrorism and the need for the Taliban to fulfil their commitments on facilitating education and employment for girls and women and ensuring a more representative and inclusive government in Kabul.
India is among the countries that continue to dispatch food and medicines in aid to Afghanistan, even as they refrain from officially recognising the Taliban dispensation in Kabul.
India last year also reopened its embassy to coordinate distribution of humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people. Apart from the 40,000 MT of wheat it sent to Afghanistan via the land border with Pakistan, the Indian government has committed to supplying 20,000 MT of more wheat through the Chabahar port in Iran.
This was the first time that India participated in the Norway’s Oslo Forum for peace talks on Afghanistan. India and Pakistan have earlier participated in the Moscow Format talks and also in the dialogue in Doha.
As reported by TOI on May 15, acknowledging the need to deepen ties with India, the Taliban last month also appointed their first envoy to India, although the appointment is yet to be effected because of resistance by Afghan diplomats from the previous Ashraf Ghani regime who remain in control of the Afghanistan embassy in Delhi.
While senior officials from India and Pakistan attended the meeting, the US was represented by its special envoy Tom West. While seeking a terror-free Afghanistan, India has also urged the Taliban to allow education for girls and employment for women saying this will have a positive social impact and discourage radical ideologies among youth.
Norway invited three civil servant-level individuals working for the Afghan de facto authorities in Kabul to this year’s Oslo Forum, according to a Reuters report from Oslo. “They met Afghan civil society and representatives from other countries to discuss the situation in Afghanistan,” Norwegian foreign minister Anniken Huitfeldt said.
“Isolating Afghanistan now will be unfortunate, both for the Afghan people and for the international community. It could worsen the situation in Afghanistan, and it could let … groups such as the ISKP get a stronger foothold in the country. This would also pose a security risk for Europe,” Huitfeldt told the agency, referring to Islamic State.