In a significant development, Indian National Security Official Advisor Ajit Doval on Wednesday met with Afghan President Ashraf at the Presidential Palace in Kabul. The two sides discussed the “expansion of cooperation in countering terrorism” and “strengthening regional consensus” on the Afghan Peace Process.

Doval’s unannounced trip to Kabul comes just days after the foreign ministers of two countries held a telephonic conversation and discussed the bilateral and regional situation.

“The Afghan National and Defense Forces are the righteous pillars of Afghanistan’s stability and are fighting in the front lines against the regional terrorism” Ghani was quoted as saying by his spokesperson, Sediq Sediqqi, on Twitter.

During the meeting, Ghani also stressed that India and Afghanistan’s joint endeavors in collaboration with NATO and the US could achieve more success in the fight against terrorism.

This is the visit by a high ranking Indian official since the Afghan government and the Taliban started the Intra-Afghan negotiation in Doha, Qatar. Earlier, prominent Afghan leaders like Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum, and Ata Muhammad Noor had visited India.

Ata Muhammad Noor, the former Balk governor and the leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, had requested India to participate in the Afghan Peace Process more actively.