Ajit Doval goes to Afghanistan, focus on terror

IN A trip that was kept under wraps before it got underway, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Wednesday visited Afghanistan for talks on strategic issues with the leadership in Kabul. The Afghan government said the conversations were about “synchronising efforts to combat terrorism and build peace”.

This is the first visit by a senior Indian official after the Afghan political stakeholders and the Taliban started their reconciliation process last year.

India attended the US-brokered peace pact signing in Doha in February last year. An Indian delegation also attended the inaugural ceremony of the intra-Afghan negotiations in September last year, while External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar addressed the gathering via video-conference.