Senior Indian diplomat, J P Singh, in charge of the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran (PAI) division in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), recently visited the Embassy of Afghanistan in New Delhi and met Afghan officials.
This information was shared by Zakia Wardak, consul general of Afghanistan in the Afghan consulate in Mumbai, on her social media handle at X.
This meeting came just a day after Ms Wardak visited Gujarat University (GU) to meet the Afghan students who were attacked by local miscreants recently. The reason for the unsavoury incident was reportedly objection to the Afghan students offering prayers during Ramzan.
“It was an absolute pleasure hosting Honorable J P Singh, joint secretary PAI Division, his deputy, Ms Deepti Jharwal, and Professor Abdul Khaliq Rashi at our Embassy in New Delhi. Our meeting on Afghanistan and India fund was productive. Mr Singh highlighted India’s long-standing support for Afghanistan and expressed gladness at the embassy’s operations,” said Ms Wardak.
Earlier this month, Mr Singh visited Kabul on March 7 and met Taliban ‘foreign minister’ Amir Khan Muttaqi. Mr Muttaqi reportedly expressed gratitude for the humanitarian assistance that India had extended. Mr Singh thanked Kabul for fighting narcotics smuggling and the Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISKP).
The positive tone of this meeting was however partly vitiated by the attack on Afghan students in the GU hostel premises in Ahmedabad on March 16. Afghan and African students were assaulted by a group of nearly two dozen attackers who barged into a hostel and ransacked the rooms. The MEA has said that strict action would be taken against those involved in the attack.
During her visit to GU, Ms Wardak visited the office of the vice chancellor of the university, Dr Neerja Gupta. She said she had emphasised to Dr Gupta the importance of a safe and inclusive environment for all students.
She also said she met the police commissioner, Gyanendra Singh Malik, to discuss security arrangements for international students. She added that she was assured of thorough investigation and justice for the victims.
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