Afghanistan's Ata Mohammad Noor meets EAM, Foreign Secretary in Delhi; briefs about the Afghan peace process

Senior Afghan leader and a close ally of India, Ata Mohammad Noor on Wednesday met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla in Delhi. During the talks, he briefed about the Afghan Peace Talks or the intra-Afghan talks between Afghan Govt and Taliban and how they are progressing.

A tweet by the ministry of external affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, “Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla welcomed Afghan leader Ata Mohammad Noor to India"

Adding, "Appreciated his insights and perspectives on recent developments. India remains committed to peace, prosperity and stability in Afghanistan."

Present during his meeting were Chargé d' Affaires of Afghan embassy Tahir Qadiry and Joint Secretary in PAI division of MEA, JP Singh.

Noor, an ethnic Tajik is the 3rd prominent Afghan leader to visit India in last one month as peace talks in the country accelerate. 

Earlier Abdul Rashid Dostum, former vice president of Afghanistan and Chairperson of Afghanistan's High Council for National Reconciliation Dr Abdullah Abdullah had visited India.

In 2016, he personally took up arms back to repel a terrorist attack on the Indian consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif & protected it. During the Taliban rein in the country in the 1990s, Noor had served as a commander in Ahmad Shah Massoud's Northern front.

He is currently CEO of Jamiat Party and in the past served as the Governor of Northern Balkh Province in Afghanistan.

Interestingly, Noor's son--Khalid Noor is part of the Afghan govt's negotiating team for Intra Afghan talks. In fact, at 25, Khalid Noor is the youngest member of the team negotiating with the Taliban.