In fact India has no role in Afghanistan

STRANGELY enough, the United States has urged India to be transparent with Pakistan about their activities in Afghanistan, implying that India has a right to be there in Afghanistan. At a briefing, Pentagon spokesman said on Wednesday that during his visit to India, Secretary of Defence Robert Gates did discuss Afghanistan with Indian leadership.

One wonders what role India has in Afghanistan when under no pretext India can interfere in the internal affairs of Afghanistan or use Afghan soil for terrorist and other activities against Pakistan. The question arises what role India has in Afghanistan when, unlike Pakistan and Iran, it has no geographical, historical or cultural links with that country. It was in this backdrop that Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani stressed NATO countries in Brussels to realize Pakistan’s perspective on the regional security situation. He made a convincing case of Pakistan’s security paradigm and hopefully the NATO countries, which have greater stakes in Afghanistan, will pay heed to the concerns raised by Pakistan especially with regard to Indian interference in the country through Afghanistan. Though remarks of the Pentagon spokesman indicated that the US too was alive to the concerns of Pakistan in this regard yet one may add that it is because of the US support that New Delhi has been able to gain a foothold in Kabul. The United States has made no secret of its desire to give India a predominant role in the region and wants India to assume responsibilities as a policeman in Afghanistan following withdrawal of the US and Western occupation forces from that country. There are reports that Americans themselves have encouraged India to ensure its presence in different forms and manifestations in Afghanistan. Otherwise, it is quite understandable that the US, which scans every inch of the occupied country on almost daily basis, cannot be ignorant of what kind of activities Indians are involved in Afghanistan. We believe that being the superpower, the United States ought to have a forthright position on regional and international issues that is commensurate with its stature and position. It should clearly tell India that it has no business in Afghanistan and it must stop hostile activities against Pakistan. But regrettably, the United States is still pushing Pakistan to sign an unrealistic transit trade agreement with Afghanistan that promotes long-term Indian trade interests at the cost of Pakistan.

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on Jan 30 2010. Filed under Editorials. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry