Indian envoy attends signing of landmark peace deal between US and Taliban in Doha

India's Ambassador to Qatar P Kumaran represented the country at the signing of the landmark peace deal between the US and the Afghan Taliban in Doha on Saturday.

It was for the first time India officially attend an event involving the Taliban.

Diplomats from a number of countries including Pakistan, Turkey and Indonesia were present during signing of the deal which marks end of the United States' war in Afghanistan since 2001.

India was represented at the event by the Ambassador to Qatar, official sources said.

The deal allows for the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan. The US has lost over 2,400 soldiers in Afghanistan.

India was invited for the signing-in ceremony by the Qatar government. India's presence at the ceremony marks a significant change in its policy as it was for the first time New Delhi sent an official representative to an event involving the Taliban.

India has been a key stakeholder in the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan.

In a significant move, India had sent two former diplomats in "non-official" capacity to a conference on Afghan peace process in Moscow in November 2018.

The conference organised by Russia was attended by a high-level Taliban delegation, representatives of Afghanistan as well as from several other countries, including the US, Pakistan and China.

Major powers such as the US, Russia and Iran have been reaching out to the Taliban as part of efforts to push the stalled Afghan peace process.

India has been supporting a national peace and reconciliation process which is Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan controlled.

India has also been maintaining that care should be taken to ensure that any such process does not lead to any "ungoverned spaces" where terrorists and their proxies can relocate.