Pakistan rejects India's invitation to attend NSA meeting on Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf on Tuesday turned down India's invitation to a meeting of the national security advisers of regional countries on Afghanistan, categorically announcing that he would not visit New Delhi.

"I will not visit New Delhi on India's invitation," Yusuf said, during a media talk after the signing of a protocol between Pakistan and Uzbekistan for the establishment of a joint security commission to enhance bilateral cooperation in security affairs.

The NSA maintained that Pakistan and Uzbekistan were on the same page on the Afghan issue.

He said that Afghanistan has been at war for the last four decades and the crisis in the country has had  a direct impact on Pakistan.

"Peace and stability in Afghanistan are vital for Pakistan" Yusuf said, adding that Islamabad considers the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Uzbekistan corridor of immense importance.

The world should consider Afghanistan as a humanitarian issue instead of a political matter, said Yusuf, as he urged the world to engage with Kabul. He warned that abandoning Afghanistan will have negative consequences for the entire world.

India invites Pakistan, China, Russia to NSA meeting on Afghanistan

On October 17, in a bid to address the humanitarian crisis and discuss the evolving situation in Afghanistan, India reportedly proposed a meeting of the national security advisers (NSA) of key stakeholder countries.

New Delhi had proposed two dates — November 10 and 11 — for the NSA meeting, Indian media had reported.

According to a report published in India Today, invitations for the meeting had been extended to key stakeholders in the region, including Russia, China, and Pakistan.