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Rekha Dixit
Rekha Dixit

HEART OF ASIA

Amritsar declaration recognises terrorism as major threat to regional peace

PTI12_4_2016_000159A Finance Minister Arun Jaitley with Afghanistan's deputy Foreign Minister Hikmat Karzai at a joint press conference after the 6th Heart of Asia Conference, in Amritsar | PTI

Afghanistan's deputy foreign minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai, in his eloquent Urdu-rich Hindi, thanked India for being with Afghanistan through thick and thin. 

“Ye mohabbat, ye mehmanawaazi...'' he said,  adding that, “Main chahta hoon ki Hindustan aur Afghanistan ki dosti abaad rahe, mazboot rahe.'' He later said in English, “You've shared your bread with us, you've supported us in very difficult circumstances, I thank you.''

Karzai was addressing a joint press conference with Indian finance minister Arun Jaitley at the conclusion of the Heart of Asia meet in Amritsar on Sunday evening. 

Elaborating on the Amritsar declaration, Jaitley said that it was the first time in the six Heart of Asia conferences held so far that the declaration recognised terrorism as the biggest threat to peace and stability in Afghanistan and called for stopping all the safe havens for terror [in the region]. “For the first time, a Heart of Asia Declaration expressed concern at the violence caused in Afghansiatan and the region by terrorist groups like Al Quaeda, Daesh, LeT and JeM.''

Jaitley said that the tone was set at the inauguration by Prime minister Narendra Modi and Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani and all the 45 delegations of countries and organisations at the meet made statements on terrorism and the threat it imposed to stability. 

The declaration calls for an early meeting to discuss the strategy to combat terrorism, as proposed by Afghanistan. 

Jaitley said that the choice of Amritsar as the venue was deliberate. Just as Amritsar is the hub of connectivity in the country, Afghanistan aspires to be one for the region, connecting Central Asia and also being a connector between Europe and Asia. 

Jaitley said that the three big issues of the conference were countering terrorism, providing Afghanisatan connectivity to strengthen economic activities and development. 

Meanwhile MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said that there was no bilateral between Pakistan's National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz and his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval. This means that the impasse in India-Pakistan ties continues. 

The next ministerial conference of Heart of Asia will be hosted by Azerbaijan in 2017. 

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Topics : #Heart of Asia