Ahead of today’s international conference on Afghanistan in London, the Afghan and Pakistani presidents and senior diplomats and ministers from the UK, the US, Iran, Tajikistan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Russia and several representatives from international agencies gathered together for the İstanbul Summit on Friendship and Cooperation in the Heart of Asia, hosted by President Abdullah Gül on Tuesday.
India was represented at a conference on Afghanistan that was hosted in Moscow earlier this month and will be represented at foreign ministerial level in today’s global conference in London, reliable sources, speaking with Today’s Zaman on the condition of anonymity, said on Wednesday.
“It is a little bit awkward that India has not been invited to a conference in the middle of these two conferences,” the same sources said, adding that the reason for India’s absence at the conference stemmed from Pakistan’s objection conveyed to the Turkish side.
“The issue has been taken up with the Turkish authorities,” the sources said, while Turkish Foreign Ministry sources said they haven’t received an official complaint from the Indian side on the issue.
India’s uneasiness was revealed through a news report posted on Wednesday by the online English daily www.indianpress.com. New Delhi has lodged a protest with Ankara for keeping it out of the Afghanistan security conference in İstanbul, apparently at the behest of Islamabad, the report said. “This may cast a shadow over Turkish President Abdullah Gül’s visit to India,” it suggested, referring to Gül’s scheduled visit to India, which is to take place in the first half of next month.
