Afghanistan Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar met with India  External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and other senior government officials to discuss the ongoing Afghan peace process.

 Atmar's three-day visit to India holds importance as the US has announced May 1 as a deadline to remove all its troops from the war-torn country under an agreement signed with the Taliban last year, though President Joe Biden now admits that it will be "tough" to keep that commitment because of the still unsettled situation and continued violence in Afghanistsan. 

The Afghan foreign ministry said that Atmar and his accompanying delegation would discuss bilateral relations, strengthen regional and international consensus on the Afghan peace process, and enhance cooperation in security, economic, political and cultural areas.

His visit comes after US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin's visit to New Delhi and Kabul where he discussed with official Washington's plan to withdraw troops from the conflict-wracked South Asian country. The US wants India to be part of the multi-pronged peace process, a position not to Pakistan's liking. 

The Afghan foreign minister is meeting National Security Adviser Ajit Doval among other senior Indian officials. Atmar will also meet former ambassadors of India to Afghanistan, students, businessmen, Afghan-Hindu representatives and a number of Afghan refugees living in India.