Oct 31, 2014
Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai has also put pressure on Pakistan, which is known to support one section of the Taliban leadership.
BEIJING: Afghan president Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai caused a stir at a high-level diplomatic meeting in Beijing by inviting Taliban to join the peace building process in his country. He has also put pressure on Pakistan, which is known to support one section of the Taliban leadership.
India's minister of state for external affairs, VK Singh, also attended the 14-nation meet called the "Istanbul process" to bring peace to Afghanistan. Pakistan, Russia, Turkey, China and Iran are also among the participants.
"We must not and will not permit groups pursuing grand illusions to use our country as the battleground or launching-pad against the international system," Ghani Ahmadzai said while speaking at the meeting.
The reference was to the spread of Taliban's influence in the Chinese region of Xinjiang, and Pakistan's inability to check the movement of terrorists from across its border to China, observers said.
"Peace is our highest priority. We invite the political opposition, particularly the Taliban, to join and enter Afghan dialogue, and ask all of our international partners to support an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process," GhaniAhmadzai said mentioning Taliban by its name.
His predecessor HamidKarzai merely called them "brothers" instead of naming Taliban.
Afghan president Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai delivers his speech at the opening ceremony of the 4th Ministerial Conference of Istanbul Process of Afghanistan, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China on October 31, 2014. (AP photo)
Met with China's President, officials, businessmen, academicians ..et al. I've invited all of them to invest in #AFG. pic.twitter.com/gzJ321KHHx— Ashraf Ghani (@ashrafghani) October 30, 2014
Replying to the questions by Indian journalists, minister of state for external affairs, VK Singh said that China and India have both agreed to the need for combating terrorism at the international level. But there were no immediate plans for intelligence sharing with China on the issue of terrorists.
Chinese premier Li Keqiang, right, shakes hands with Afghan president Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai at opening ceremony of the 4th Ministerial Conference of Istanbul Process of Afghanistan, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China on October 31, 2014. (AP photo)
The minister said he was not worried that the Afghan president had made China the destination of his first foreign visit after taking over power a month back. It did not suggest any change in Kabul's policy towards India in the post-Karzai era, he said.
Here's President Ghani's statement at the 4th Ministerial Conference of the Istanbul Process on Afghanistan: http://t.co/NTUOKnmmwq— Ashraf Ghani (@ashrafghani) October 31,
2014Singh said India was not discussing Pakistan's sourcing of attacks on Indian missions in Afghanistan during this meeting. "We know how to deal with the situation," he said.
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