India is keen that the US and Nato forces should stay in Afghanistan and not leave before the al Qaeda and Taliban are completely destroyed.
US special envoy Richard Holbrooke arrived in the capital late on Sunday to hold talks with Indian leaders on the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan and to give India a feel of American thinking on US and Nato long-term plans in the region.
Holbrooke will meet external affairs minister SM Krishna on Monday.
Holbrooke has not always been New Delhi’s favourite, but much of the initial fears that his role would extend to that of a peacemaker between India and Pakistan on Kashmir have now been laid to rest. With the London conference on Afghanistan scheduled for later this month, India would be keen to know the long-term US policy in Af-Pak.
India is keen that the US and Nato forces should stay in Afghanistan and not leave before the al Qaeda and Taliban are completely destroyed. “The international community’s disengagement from Afghanistan would mean handing that country on a platter to Pakistan,” is what an Indian official, who did not wish to be identified, said. “This would be a disaster for India’s security concerns,” the official went on to explain.
New Delhi firmly believes that the Taliban in Afghanistan continues to enjoy the support of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and that the two attacks on the Indian embassy in Kabul were instigated and planned by the ISI.
New Delhi’s more pragmatic line now is: Any talks with the Taliban or any initiative in reconciliation must be led by the Afghan leadership.
The subtext here is not to hand the delicate negotiations to the ISI, who want to play the role of go-between.
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