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India-Afghan Partnership: TARGETTING PAK INFLUENCE?, by Monish Tourangba, 11 Oct, 2011 Print E-mail

Round The World

New Delhi, 11 October 2011

India-Afghan Partnership

TARGETTING PAK INFLUENCE?

By Monish Tourangbam

Research Scholar, School of International Studies (JNU)

India and Afghanistan have given official signatures to their Strategic Partnership, putting Pakistan on the back-foot. Even as President Hamid Karzai visited New Delhi praising India’s humanitarian role in the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan, US officials as well as those in Kabul continued to accuse sections of the Pakistani establishment for their deleterious role in the fight against terrorism.

While top officials in the US pointed to links between Pakistan’s military intelligence and the Haqqani network, those in Kabul investigating the assassination of former President Burhanuddin Rabbani, the head of the Afghan High Peace Council are upset over the lack of cooperation from Islamabad. 

At the same time, however, all sides involved in Afghanistan are well aware that safeguarding the future of the country needs active support from Islamabad. Pakistan is an inevitable player in the game. Therefore, while Karzai signed high-level deals with New Delhi, he sought to emphasize that the strategic partnership was not directed against any other State or group of States. In a bid to reassure, President Karzai stated: “Pakistan is a twin brother, India is a great friend. The agreement that we signed yesterday with our friend will not affect our brother.”

Undeniably, there is a power game unfolding in Afghanistan and as the western forces plan to withdraw from the region, India has to tie its boots and be relentless towards preserving its own security and interests. Return to an Afghanistan resembling the Taliban rule during the 1990s will not augur well for New Delhi’s interests.

While the presence of some sections of the Taliban in one form or the other in the future of Afghan polity is foreseen, New Delhi needs to ensure that the resultant mix of powers in Kabul is not detrimental to its interests. For that, some sections of the Pakistan establishment should be dissuaded from playing any substantial role in the Afghan polity, and one needs to ensure that moderate elements of the Taliban win the internal debate within Afghanistan.

The Afghan government needs to be constantly engaged, and so far the scorecard has been fairly positive. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Afghanistan in May, soon after Osama Bin Laden was hunted down in Pakistan. This apart, India continues to be one of the major aid donors to the war-torn country. Indeed, this humanitarian role needs to be capitalized. 

India has pledged about $2 billion since the 2001 US led-invasion for projects ranging from the construction of highways to the building of the Afghan parliament. The presence of a big economy such as India in the vicinity and the dividends that it could yield for a resurgent Afghanistan should be constantly emphasized.

Karzai’s return visit within a few months has been amply rewarding for Indo-Afghan ties and the strategic partnership has envisioned a higher form of relationship that is more comprehensive and ambitious for the sake of both the countries’ future. Apparently, the Strategic Partnership would be implemented under the framework of a Partnership Council, which will be headed by both the Foreign Ministers. The Council will convene annual meetings with existing dialogue mechanisms being a major part.  

Moreover, establishment of a Strategic Dialogue was agreed upon to provide a framework for cooperation in the area of national security. The Dialogue will be led by NSAs (National Security advisors) and involve regular consultations with the aim of intensifying mutual efforts towards strengthening regional peace and security. Besides, effective economic linkages were outlined, to help Afghanistan emerge as a trade, transportation and energy hub connecting Central and South Asia and enabling free and more unfettered transport and transit linkages.

To help steer the relationship forward, valuable educational exchanges were put forth. Two memoranda of understanding were concluded in the Field of Development of Hydrocarbons and Mineral Resources. Further, Afghanistan categorically expressed support for reform and expansion of the United Nations Security Council, including a permanent seat for India on it. 

Significantly, New Delhi agreed to assist, as mutually determined, in the training, equipping and capacity building programmes for Afghan National Security Forces. In the event of withdrawal of western forces from Afghanistan, the capability and efficiency of the Afghan forces will largely determine the security of its State. 

India, therefore, must give utmost seriousness to this effort that will help create significant leverages for it in the future. Importantly, the Manmohan Singh Government reiterated its commitment to the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan and emphasized that other countries should assist its people in helping them decide their own future.

Watching the Afghan conflict unfold over the years, one aspect among others has become amply clear, i.e. this war cannot be won by force alone. So, even as the peace talks with the Taliban produce no credible results as of now, there is no other viable alternative to consultations and reconciliation.

Clearly, Afghanistan is struggling to put up a semblance of normalcy and a functioning democracy. New Delhi has a huge interest in seeing it develop as a secure nation with an inclusive democracy that is palatable to all its diverse ethnic composition. Accordingly, India and Afghanistan agreed to share and learn from each others' experience of the values and institutions of democracy, including the sharing, distribution and devolution of powers, relations between the Centre and States/Provinces, electoral reforms etc.

As for the US, addressing the media in the White House, President Barack Obama asked Pakistan not to view India as its “mortal enemy”, to shed its Afghan-India paranoia and to realise that a “peaceful approach” towards New Delhi would be in everybody's interests. This is so, because Islamabad considers Afghanistan its strategic backyard and has yielded enormous influence in its political makeup. 

Recall, Pakistan was used as a vital conduit during the US-supported Mujahideen’s fight against the Soviets and following that was instrumental in the growth of the Taliban as a force in Afghan socio-political landscape. Now, with the western forces planning to withdraw from the Afghan theatre, Islamabad would obviously seek to increase its traction in the future of Kabul and put in place groups closer to it. In this scenario, any move by India towards increasing its influence in Afghanistan, though largely humanitarian in nature would irk Islamabad. 

However, such a jaundiced and parochial strategic view from Pakistan would be highly detrimental for the entire region and would have major repercussions for the international community, since the Af-Pak region is considered the epicentre of international terrorism. In the final analysis, it is high time that the US, along with India engage other major powers such as Russia and China (Pakistan’s all-weather friend) to persuade Islamabad to work towards a regional framework that aims at growth and development and not destabilization. ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Allianced)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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