Trump way only way to fight terror: Afghan envoy to India

The Afghan envoy to India on Monday said that US President Donald Trump's way to fight radicalisation and global terrorism was the only way to combat it.

"The greatest challenge for the region and the world is terrorism and radicalism, And he (Donald Trump) has said that it has to be eradicated," Shaida Mohammad Abdali, the Afghan Ambassador to India, said at a seminar here.

"We hope that the policy of the new US administration will be such that engages the countries in the region around Afghanistan and the countries that are sincerely fighting terrorism. India has always been at the forefront of that," he added.

Terming Afghanistan as a linchpin to regional stability owing to its geographic location, Abdali said that Afghanistan should be mainstreamed into regional economic cooperation to bring peace and security.

Speaking on the role of China in the stability of Afghanistan, the envoy said: "We would like to utilise their resources and their potential. When it comes to their relationship with Pakistan, we hope they will be able to influence for productive engagement for peace."

Talking on the peace deal with militant Hezb-i-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hikmatyar, Abdali said: "It's a good beginning for us when it comes to peace process. We hope that this will be used as a positive step towards engaging the Taliban and our neighbour Pakistan for successful peace process."

In September last year, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani signed a peace accord with Hezb-e-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. The United Nations at the request of the Afghan government dropped sanctions against Hekmatyar on February 4.

--IANS

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