India, 7 Other Nations Release Joint Statement on Afghanistan

India and seven other countries that participated here in the Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan adopted the Delhi Declaration on Wednesday stressing the necessity of forming an open and truly inclusive government in Kabul that represents the will and representation of all sections of Afghanistan.

The participants expressed deep concern over the suffering of the people of Afghanistan arising from the security situation in Afghanistan and condemned the terrorist attacks in Kunduz, Kandahar and Kabul, the declaration read.
National Security Advisers or Secretaries of the Security Council of five Central Asian countries – Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan besides Russia and Iran – attended the New Delhi meet on Afghanistan on Wednesday. The dialogue was chaired by NSA Ajit Doval.

Participants reiterated strong support for a peaceful, secure and stable Afghanistan while emphasizing the respect for sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity and non-interference in its internal affairs.

They also emphasised that Afghanistan’s territory should not be used for sheltering, training, planning or financing any terrorist acts.

Recalling the relevant UN Resolutions on Afghanistan, the participants noted that the United Nations has a central role to play in Afghanistan and that its continued presence in the country must be preserved.

They expressed concern over the deteriorating socio-economic and humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and underlined the need to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan.

The participants reiterated that humanitarian assistance should be provided in an unimpeded, direct and assured manner to Afghanistan and that the assistance is distributed within the country in a non-discriminatory manner across all sections of the Afghan society. (ANI)