Peace within Afghanistan should be an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned, and Afghan-controlled process, he said

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that there is a need to bring a double peace process in Afghanistan, adding that its neighbors have a key role to play in it.

Speaking at a Raisina Dialogue 2021 session on Junction Kabul: The Road to Peace', on Friday, Jaishankar said, “In the last 20 years, Afghanistan has changed. And the world has evolved. We have demonstrated through our actions and projects on the ground what our real feelings are for Afghanistan. Afghanistan needs a double peace. It needs peace within, and it needs peace around.”

Noting that it is crucial for Afghanistan’s neighbors to support the process, Jaishankar said, "The future of Afghanistan should not be a return to its past. The international community should take care not to throw the baby out with the bathwater," he added.

Reiterating that India has always worked on Afghan development, Jaishankar said, “The situation is evolving and obviously everybody wants to make the best contribution they can and shape the outcome in Afghanistan positively.” He said this without revealing the actual plan of action India has for the development in Afghanistan.

He stressed that India has always believed that peace within Afghanistan should be an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned, and Afghan-controlled process, which essentially is the way of saying that what is good for Afghanistan should be decided by Afghans.

“Everybody agrees that peace is in its collective interest, the lack of violence, development, deciding the will of the people in a democratic process, is in collective interest,” he added.

Notably, the Raisina Dialogue 2021 session on Afghanistan comes days after US President Joe Biden announced that Washington will withdraw its remaining 2,500 troops from Afghanistan by September 11. The decision comes as an extension to the previous order under the Trump government which had managed to reach an agreement with the Taliban last year.

EAM Jaishankar extended his support towards Biden’s decision during the dialogue.