Forging pacts
October 5, 2011
Emphasizing that Afghanistan deserved to live in peace "without outside interference, coercion and intimidation," India has taken a decisive strategic step in bilateral ties with the country, which will open the doors to training, equipping and capacity-building of the Afghan National Security Forces.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has just completed a two-day trip to New Delhi, also signed two other deals on energy and mining that will give India more space to play a more pro-active security role in Afghanistan.Long-term strategic partnerships
With the United States set to pull out the bulk of its nearly 100,000 troops in Afghanistan by 2014, Kabul has been looking to create long-term strategic partnership agreements with multiple governments.
The pact signed on October 4 envisages an annual security dialogue that will focus on a united effort to fight international terrorism, organized crime, and illegal trafficking in narcotics. Aside from annual summits, meetings between foreign ministers are also set to regularly occur.
The Indo-Afghan bilateral strategic pact has been in the making since Manmohan Singh’s visit to Kabul in May this year, when the two sides declared their intent to bump up their ties to the level of a strategic partnership.
"India will stand by the people of Afghanistan as they prepare to assume the responsibility for their governance and security after the withdrawal of international forces in 2014," Manmohan Singh said after his meeting with Karzai in New Delhi.
In a clear reference to Pakistan, Karzai said Afghanistan "recognizes the danger this region is facing through terrorism and radicalism that (are) being used an instrument of state policy against civilians and innocents of our countries."
Timing of visit crucial
Observers feel Karzai's India trip is aimed at sending Pakistan a loud message that Afghanistan is capable of pursuing an independent foreign policy free of Pakistani influence. It also comes at a time in the midst of unpleasant relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan on the one hand and between Islamabad and Washington on the other.
Strategic expert C. Raja Mohan of the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi believes the consolidation of the India-Afghanistan strategic partnership is bound to add a new layer of complexity to the triangular relationship between New Delhi, Kabul and Rawalpindi, where the headquarters of the Pakistani army is located.
Afghanistan has already shared its findings with India on the complicity of the Pakistani spy agency’s (ISI) involvement in recent terror attacks in Afghanistan, including the assassination of former president Burhanuddin Rabbani, Karzai's chief interlocutor with the Taliban.
Even before his visit to India, Karzai said that Pakistan has not lived up to its promises to help end the Taliban-led insurgency. Both Afghanistan and the US have increased their pressure on Islamabad to crack down on militant groups using Pakistan as a launch pad for attacks in Afghanistan.
Political commentator Saeed Naqvi maintained that the growing unpopularity of Pakistan provides an opportunity for India. While Pakistan has been blamed by Afghans for much of the violence in their country, India is seen as a benign benefactor, he says.
Afghan development
The new strategic partnership will also help Indian steel and ironing ore companies invest in Afghanistan’s expansive wealth of untapped minerals, whose value is estimated to run into trillions of dollars.
As a further show of support, Manmohan Singh also agreed that his government will participate in the forthcoming conferences in Istanbul and Bonn to contribute towards international and regional initiatives for Afghanistan’s efforts at nation building.
Author: Murali Krishnan
Editor: Sarah Berning