New Delhi: Visiting Qatari envoy Mutlaq bin Majed Al-Qahtani and Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) J P Singh on Friday discussed the current situation in Afghanistan and recent developments in the Afghan peace process.
Al-Qahtani, the Special Envoy of the Foreign Minister of Qatar for Counter-terrorism and Mediation of Conflict Resolution is on a visit to India, sources said.
The Qatari envoy also called on Sanjay Bhattacharya, Secretary (Consular, Passport and Visa and Overseas Indian Affairs division) and discussed bilateral affairs.
He will call on Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Saturday, the sources said.
This visit by the Qatari FM’s special envoy comes amid the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. With US military drawdown less than a month away from competition, violence is at its peak in the country.
Doha, the capital of Qatar has been hosting the intra-Afghan peace talks. As many as 1,677 civilians were killed and 3,644 more were injured in Afghanistan in the first six months of this year, showing an 80 per cent increase of casualties compared to last year, according to Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC).
These killings took place in 1,594 different security incidents.