Indian envoy’s comments on Sharif-Ghani talks against diplomatic norms, says FO

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office said on Thursday that comments by the Indian envoy in Afghanistan on the meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Paris breached diplomatic norms.

“It is against the diplomatic norms for an ambassador to try to undermine relations of his host country with a third country. We expect all regional countries to support efforts for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan,” Foreign Office spokesman Qazi Khalilullah said at the weekly media briefing.

Also read: Pakistan ready to host next round of Afghan peace talks, says Lodhi

While commenting on the Paris meeting between Mr Sharif and Mr Ghani, Indian ambassador in Kabul Amar Sinha had questioned Pakistan’s sincerity in promoting peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan and said that mere statements would not help achieve the goal.

In their meeting on the sidelines of the climate change summit, PM Sharif and President Ghani had discussed irritants in the bilateral relationship and prospects for resumption of the stalled reconciliation process between Afghan government and Taliban. After the meeting, the Pakistan government had issued a roadmap for the likely Afghan peace dialogue.

The exchange comes ahead of the Heart of Asia ministerial meeting being jointly hosted by Pakistan and Afghanistan in Islamabad on Dec 9. The Heart of Asia process focuses on regional cooperation in Afghanistan. The theme of Islamabad meeting is “Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process: Enhanced Cooperation for Countering Security Threats and Promoting Connectivity in the Heart of Asia Region”.

“The agenda of the conference is aimed at cementing regional ties through a set of confidence building measures. The process is aimed at expanding coordination between Afghanistan and its neighbours and regional partners in facing common threats, including terrorism, narcotics, poverty and extremism,” Mr Khalilullah said.

There are indications that Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj would visit Islamabad on the occasion of the regional meeting. It is believed that PM Sharif’s brief interaction with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Paris had paved the way for Ms Swaraj’s trip, which would be the first by an Indian minister to Pakistan since the BJP came to power and relations increasingly became frosty.

Other foreign ministers, who have so far confirmed their participation include foreign ministers of China, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Iran and Afghanistan.

Afghan President Ghani, Mr Khalil­ullah said, as per the programme would inaugurate the foreign ministers’ meeting along with Mr Sharif. “However, confirmation of Afghan president’s visit is still awaited,” he said.

Published in Dawn, December 4th, 2015