India’s Stakes in Afghanistan Post Withdrawal of NATO Forces

India Braces for the Challenges After the U.S. Pull-out from Afghanistan
By: IMR June 2013 Issue
 
 
IMR  June 2013
IMR June 2013
DELHI, India - June 22, 2013 - PRLog -- The withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan in 2014 is causing the spectre of an imploding violence-torn Afghanistan turn into a net exporter of instability look a dark reality in India and many of Afghanistan's neighbours, says the latest issue of Indian Military Review (IMR).

India's priorities are to watch, balance and protect its economic and strategic interests in Afghanistan. It is also concerned that a rejuvenated Taliban under the control of the Pakistan Army and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) will provide a safe haven for Islamists and launch operations into Kashmir.

India has pledged assistance to Afghanistan about $2 billion and is the fifth largest bilateral donor to the country. It is involved in almost every area of humanitarian activity, be it building dams, colleges, schools, roads and hospitals or drilling tube wells.

Besides, it is also training soldiers of the Afghan National Army (ANA) and giving scholarships to nearly 1,000 students every year. The new Afghan Parliament building being built by India is almost complete. More than 3,000 Indians are working in Afghanistan. Despite the hostile situation, recruitment agencies in India continue receiving applications for jobs in different sectors in Afghanistan. India has undertaken the challenging Chabahar port project in Iran which will be a link to Central Asia and an affirmation of its friendship to the vulnerable country.

On 16 May Afghan ambassador to India Shaida M Abdali made a strong pitch enhancing of the "deepening" defence cooperation and urged for lethal and non-lethal arms supplies to Kabul from New Delhi. So far, India has been cautious in keeping the defence cooperation at a low key and focussed on training Afghan police and security forces rather than supplying weapons or sending Indian troops.

Karzai visited India on May 20-22 during which he apprised the Indian leadership of the recent developments in the war-torn country. The two sides discussed cooperation at a "critical time" for Afghanistan, which is witnessing the withdrawal of NATO combat troops.

As the deadline for drawdown comes closer in Afghanistan, India is faced with a plethora of challenges in the battle-scarred nation to safeguard its strategic interests.

The first and foremost challenge comes from Pakistan, which is hell-bent on denying India any role in the aftermath of the pull-out of foreign troops in 2014. Islamabad has also continued to back the Taliban even after its political demise in Afghanistan. Its support stems from its belief that the group could provide Pakistan strategic depth in Afghanistan and a significant bargaining chip against New Delhi after the pull-out of foreign troops.

Adding to India’s woes is the spectre of Pakistan-friendly Taliban re-emerging as the predominant force in Afghanistan. The Taliban factions are feeling upbeat with the scheduled departure of foreign troops not being far away. Despite their negative role in Afghanistan, which has suffered so much as a result of the activities of the Taliban, the extremists’ support base in the landlocked country remains formidable.

The Western backing to a political dispensation to be run in partnership with the Taliban is part of a strategy for bringing about stability in Afghanistan. But the strategy has a major weakness: allowing the Taliban to share power in Kabul will embolden the extremists in Xinjiang in China, Jammu and Kashmir in India, all over Pakistan and elsewhere in South Asia. Thus, taking the help of the Taliban for peace in Afghanistan will amount to sowing the seeds of instability in parts of South Asia and China.

India and China’s strategy in Afghanistan is based on their development projects. Both New Delhi and Beijing believe that development can work as an antidote to extremism represented by the Taliban. However, the two Asian giants can succeed in side-lining the Taliban only if China stops Pakistan from pursuing its negative policy of backing the Taliban for short-term gains.

India must work hard and keep pace as the situation changes, while nudging Karzai on the development of the Chabahar port in Iran, crucial for routing Indian shipments to Afghanistan. Recognising the implications for its own security if Afghanistan were to collapse into chaos again, India must keep engaging the country's neighbours to facilitate peace after the transition.
End
Source:IMR June 2013 Issue
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Tags:Afghanistan, NATO pull-out, India, Taliban
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Location:Delhi - Delhi - India
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Page Updated Last on: Jun 23, 2013
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