External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday called on Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, ahead of his delegation level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Ghani arrived in India on Monday night on a three-day visit, his first after becoming President seven months ago.

He was received at Palam airport by Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha.

The two leaders have met once earlier, on the sidelines of the SAARC Summit in Kathmandu, but officials said this would be the first time they would have a chance to talk about the tough questions on Afghanistan and India’s future engagement, with specific concerns in New Delhi about Ghani’s plan of reconciliation with the Taliban as well as his new-found closeness to Pakistan.

Diplomatic sources said India viewed Ghani’s policy towards talks with the Taliban as a major shift from that of his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, on two counts: Ghani now sees a bigger role for Pakistan in mediating talks and his government is willing to speak to Taliban leaders without the pre-condition, or “red-line”, that they give up violence.

Military equipment

Modi and Ghani will discuss Indian military equipment supplies to Afghanistan. Three Cheetal helicopters, built by Hindustan Aeronautical Ltd., have now been flown to Kabul ahead of the visit.

India and Afghanistan will announce agreements on easing motor vehicle travel, a mutual legal assistance or extradition treaty, as well as a cooperation agreement between chambers of commerce.

Invitation to Modi

Sources said Modi is expected to accept an invitation to visit Afghanistan later this year, one of the countries in the SAARC neighbourhood he is yet to visit, besides Bangladesh, the Maldives and Pakistan.

Ghani, who will be staying as a guest of President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, will deliver a lecture on regional cooperation on Tuesday evening and fly out of Delhi on Wednesday.
(PTI)