AMRITSAR (BNA) The Heart of Asia conference on the future of Afghanistan that began yesterday with the senior officials’ meeting focused on the ways to deal with threat of terrorism to the region, without curbing which peace and progress in the war-torn nation was not possible.
The conference is taking place in the backdrop of heightened tension between India and Pakistan resulting from the terror attack on Nagrota Army Base, because of which any bilateral meeting between Pakistan’s foreign policy adviser Sartaj Aziz and his Indian counterpart has almost been ruled out. President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani arrived in the city yesterday evening. The conference is being attended by about 40 countries and other leading groups like the European Union and major donor countries for Afghanistan. Yesterday, senior officials of 14 member countries, including India, China, Russia, Iran and Pakistan, were deliberating on a wide range of issues facing Afghanistan, including the issues of security and connectivity of the nation with South and Central Asian countries. The meeting was co-chaired by Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and Deputy Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Hikmat Khalil Karzai. A text for today’s (Sunday) Ministerial Conference and final declaration was being finalized by senior officials meeting.
