The new trilateral consultation forum on Afghanistan held its first meeting in New York on Sept 21.
Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Karzai, Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan. Manpreet Vohra, and U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Olson, met to exchange views on the situation in Afghanistan and on regional issues of mutual interest.
The new initiative was announced by Secretary of State John Kerry during his visit to New Delhi. It reflects the changing regional dynamics and a grudging acknowledgement by Washington that it has been banking on a wrong horse in its pursuit of peace of stability in the war ravaged Taliban insurgency hit Afghanistan.
Reaffirming their shared interests in advancing peace and security in the region, as well as countering terrorism, all sides welcomed the discussions focused on political, economic, and development goals in Afghanistan, including the regional dimension. The meeting provided a forum for the U.S. Government and the Government of India to explore ways to coordinate and align their assistance with the priorities of the Afghan government. They agreed that the dialogue helps advance shared values and goals, and decided to continue these consultations on a regular basis.
A day before this meeting, Secretary of State John Kerry held discussions with Pakistani Prime Minister Sharif, who is in the United States to pump prime his Mission Kashmir.
From what Kerry’s spokesperson, John Kirby said on record, Sharif has drawn a blank in his efforts to hard-sell Islamabad line that US should step in to end Indian atrocities in Kashmir. In fact from the tone and tenor of Kirby briefing, it is clear that Sharif received a grand snub.
Read this sentence from Kirby: “The Prime Minister and Secretary Kerry expressed strong concern with recent violence in Kashmir — particularly the army base attack — and the need for all sides to reduce tensions”.
Even on terrorism front, US Secretary State stuck to the familiar refrain- do more mantra.
“ The Secretary reiterated the need for Pakistan to prevent all terrorists from using Pakistani territory as safe havens, while commending recent efforts by Pakistani security forces to counter extremist violence”, the official handout said.