Afghanistan Army chief Lt. Gen. Wali Mohammad Ahmadzai has postponed his trip to India amid increased Taliban violence in the country.
“This is to inform that our Chief of Army visit to India is postponed due to intensity of war and Taliban’s increased assault and offensive,” the Afghanistan Embassy said on Monday.
Lt. Gen. Ahmadzai was scheduled to arrive in India on a three-day visit beginning July 27 and meet Army Chief Gen. Manoj Naravane and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.
He was appointed as Army chief by President Ashraf Ghani in a major reshuffle last month.
The visit was especially important and closely watched as it came amid the U.S. military exit from Afghanistan and the steep increase in violence by Taliban in the last few weeks and also raging fighting between the Taliban and Afghan national Army.
The timing of the visit had also coincided with the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken who is scheduled to arrive in India on Tuesday on a two-day visit. Afghanistan is expected to figure prominently in his talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
