Afghanistan crisis: India to keep close watch on Oman’s quadrilateral meet
, ET Bureau|
Updated: Oct 14, 2017, 01.02 AM IST
NEW DELHI: Multilateral efforts aimed at stability in Afghanistan are in full swing, with Oman set to host a US-China-Afghanistan-Pakistan meeting on October 16, close on the heels of the SCO contact group meet in Moscow and Indo-Afghan investment show in Delhi.
The maiden quadrilateral meet comes in the wake of the US President Donald Trump announcing his Afghan policy and mounting massive pressure on Pakistan to launch a crackdown against Taliban and terrorism infrastructure.
Oman seeks to play the role of a balancer in the region and may just be the power to bring Taliban to the negotiating table. Recently Oman facilitated the release of Father Tom Uzhunnalil, a catholic priest from India who was kidnapped by Islamic State in March last year, from Yemen.
It has also been a mediator of sorts between the Gulf monarchies and Iran. Although India is not part of the quadrilateral meet, the government will keep a close watch on the meeting given the country’s high security stakes in Afghanistan.
At the SCO contact group meeting on Afghanistan on Wednesday, India shared its perspective on the situation in Afghanistan.
Officials said this included security challenges posed by terrorism imposed from beyond India’s borders, the need to strengthen Afghan National Defence and Security Forces and need for national peace and reconciliation led, owned and controlled by Afghanistan in an environment free of terror.
The maiden quadrilateral meet comes in the wake of the US President Donald Trump announcing his Afghan policy and mounting massive pressure on Pakistan to launch a crackdown against Taliban and terrorism infrastructure.
Oman seeks to play the role of a balancer in the region and may just be the power to bring Taliban to the negotiating table. Recently Oman facilitated the release of Father Tom Uzhunnalil, a catholic priest from India who was kidnapped by Islamic State in March last year, from Yemen.
It has also been a mediator of sorts between the Gulf monarchies and Iran. Although India is not part of the quadrilateral meet, the government will keep a close watch on the meeting given the country’s high security stakes in Afghanistan.
At the SCO contact group meeting on Afghanistan on Wednesday, India shared its perspective on the situation in Afghanistan.
Officials said this included security challenges posed by terrorism imposed from beyond India’s borders, the need to strengthen Afghan National Defence and Security Forces and need for national peace and reconciliation led, owned and controlled by Afghanistan in an environment free of terror.
