.India renews vow to stay in Afghanistan
Neither violence nor diplomatic pressure will dissuade India from its goal of deeper involvement in Afghanistan, the Indian government has vowed.
The comments follow a recent attack on a Kabul guesthouse that killed 17 people, seven of them Indians. Senior Indian policy advisers have aired frustrations over Washington’s anxiety that greater Indian involvement in Afghanistan could antagonise Pakistan.
“In spite of the attacks, we are going to continue our commitment,” Nirupama Rao, India’s foreign secretary, told the Financial Times. “We need to stay engaged. . . The international community understands our point of view.”
India interprets attacks on its nationals as a message from Islamabad to keep out of Afghanistan.
Projects that New Delhi has undertaken in Afghanistan include constructing a parliament building, a road to Iran and additional power capacity. It also has a programme to provide bridges, clinics and schools.
Pakistan views India’s intentions in Afghanistan with extreme suspicion. It fears encirclement and resents meddling in a country it considers vital to its strategic influence.
Pakistani officials are even suspicious of Indian consulates in Afghanistan, claiming they are used as spying outposts. They accuse India of supporting hostile Afghan warlords.
India and Pakistan, two nuclear-armed states, have fought three wars against each other since partition in 1947.
Ms Rao met with her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir last month as part of an effort to re-establish high-level dialogue with Pakistan, which was suspended after the 2008 terror attacks on Mumbai.
Her latest comments coincided with a visit to the Afghan capital by Shiv Shankar Menon, India’s national security adviser. While there, he said that more steps would be taken to protect Indians working in the country.
He said: “We have several developmental projects and a co-operation programme. We might adjust the way we do it, but our commitment to the developmental partnership will continue.”
G. Parthasarathy, a former envoy to Pakistan, said Islamabad continued to be wary of India’s role and had been emboldened by the discussions at the London conference on Afghanistan earlier this year. He said: “The Pakistanis have become very cocky. Some of them think it’s only a matter of time before the west pulls out [of Afghanistan]. They propose that any reintegration with the Taliban comes through them.”
New Delhi has expressed outrage over the latest Kabul attack, which it viewed as part of a campaign to target Indians.
Richard Holbrooke, the US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, was last week forced to apologise for his initial assessment that Indians had not been directly targeted in the assault.
FT
The comments follow a recent attack on a Kabul guesthouse that killed 17 people, seven of them Indians. Senior Indian policy advisers have aired frustrations over Washington’s anxiety that greater Indian involvement in Afghanistan could antagonise Pakistan.
“In spite of the attacks, we are going to continue our commitment,” Nirupama Rao, India’s foreign secretary, told the Financial Times. “We need to stay engaged. . . The international community understands our point of view.”
India interprets attacks on its nationals as a message from Islamabad to keep out of Afghanistan.
Projects that New Delhi has undertaken in Afghanistan include constructing a parliament building, a road to Iran and additional power capacity. It also has a programme to provide bridges, clinics and schools.
Pakistan views India’s intentions in Afghanistan with extreme suspicion. It fears encirclement and resents meddling in a country it considers vital to its strategic influence.
Pakistani officials are even suspicious of Indian consulates in Afghanistan, claiming they are used as spying outposts. They accuse India of supporting hostile Afghan warlords.
India and Pakistan, two nuclear-armed states, have fought three wars against each other since partition in 1947.
Ms Rao met with her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir last month as part of an effort to re-establish high-level dialogue with Pakistan, which was suspended after the 2008 terror attacks on Mumbai.
Her latest comments coincided with a visit to the Afghan capital by Shiv Shankar Menon, India’s national security adviser. While there, he said that more steps would be taken to protect Indians working in the country.
He said: “We have several developmental projects and a co-operation programme. We might adjust the way we do it, but our commitment to the developmental partnership will continue.”
G. Parthasarathy, a former envoy to Pakistan, said Islamabad continued to be wary of India’s role and had been emboldened by the discussions at the London conference on Afghanistan earlier this year. He said: “The Pakistanis have become very cocky. Some of them think it’s only a matter of time before the west pulls out [of Afghanistan]. They propose that any reintegration with the Taliban comes through them.”
New Delhi has expressed outrage over the latest Kabul attack, which it viewed as part of a campaign to target Indians.
Richard Holbrooke, the US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, was last week forced to apologise for his initial assessment that Indians had not been directly targeted in the assault.
FT
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