India in a Tough Spot in Afghanistan

Last week leaders of 70 nations met in London to discuss the future of Afghanistan.  The goal of the Western nations is to increase the size of the Afghanistan security forces to about 300,000 by mid next year.  This will enable the NATO and other forces to drop down the number of military personnel and then eventually leave.

The key players including the Afghan government, the United States and Britain are also considering holding talks with certain factions of the “Afghan Taliban”.  There are reports of secret talks between the Afghanistan government and some of the Taliban factions since the American invasion after 09/11/2001.

The new move has tremendous consequences for India.  India has a strong interest in Afghanistan and is one of the countries largest aid donors.  India also has done more towards “nation building” in Afghanistan than any country except the United States.  But for the most part India does not see different shades of Taliban as the Americans and the British do.

Most politicians and the media in the West now talk about Pakistan Taliban and Afghan Taliban.  They see good and bad Afghan Taliban.  India only sees one Taliban and does not want anything to do with it.  There will be pressure applied on the Indian government to playing along with the new thought process in Washington and London.

India should keep its strategic interests in the region in mind and should not get pressured into making peace with certain members of the Taliban.  Part of the core beliefs of organizations like the Taliban and Al Qaeda is to destroy countries like India and bring it under their influence.

Organizations like these that have been badly damaged since the war began are actually capable of conducting operations in India than they are in the United States or Britain.  The November 2008 attacks have shown that elements in the Pakistani government are willing to fund and train terrorists and organizations that are willing to attack India.  They are unlikely to do this for a mission that targets the West.

Fortunately for India both the Karzai government and the main opposition candidate in Afghanistan Abdullah Abdullah have close ties with India.  We should strengthen this relationship and at the same time develop new relationships with groups opposed to the Taliban.  The last thing India wants is a Taliban led government that is basically the proxy government of Pakistan.  About 70,000 Indians died in Kashmir the last time this combination was in power in Afghanistan.

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2. India Proposes High-Level Talks with Pakistan
3. Lessons India Should Learn From Pakistan
4. China Blocks India from Updating UNSCR 1267
5. No Preconditions for Talks with Pakistan but …

Tags: Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Britain, India, kashmir, Pakistan, Taliban, United States

Category: News & Government