India must play larger internal role in Afghanistan: US

Senior journalist Smita Sharma here elaborates about the US Special Representative for Afghan peace process Zalmay Khalilzad extensive talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval over the fast-evolving political situation in Afghanistan after the Trump administration struck a deal with the Taliban in February.

New Delhi:A day after US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad paid a short ‘urgent’ visit to New Delhi, sources have indicated that the American side is keen for India to play a larger role in the internal political process of the war-torn country.

“The talks had a level of urgency. He (Khalilzad) could have come later, but he chose to come all the way for a couple of hours of talks,” said a source about Khalilzad’s meetings with External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr. S Jaishankar, NSA Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla while in Delhi on Thursday.

India has so far been a reluctant party in entering the negotiations room with the Taliban and Pakistan and has always maintained officially that there should be no discrimination between good and bad Taliban. An indication of a significant shift now, the US wants India to look closely at internal political developments including the Taliban, said sources.

“The conversations with EAM and NSA covered entire gamut looking at internal developments, security-related developments, impact of US- Taliban talks, proposal for different formulations that would accommodate different strands in Afghanistan,” said a government official.

Khalilzad accompanied by Trump’s National Security Council Senior Director Lisa Curtis traveled from Doha- where he met Mullah Baradar and team- to Delhi enroute Islamabad.

The Trump administration is keen to accelerate the timeline for the re-start of the intra-Afghan negotiations, even as its talks with the Taliban are flailing amid an increased offensive in-attacks against defence and government forces in Afghanistan that is also grappling to fight COVID-19 pandemic along with other countries. According to sources, Khalilzad updated his Indian interlocutors about ‘threat to Afghanistan on accounts of terrorism, increased attacks from Taliban on defence forces, concerns related to the impact of this on Afghan constitutional factors as well as on government, security forces and society.’

Describing India as a ‘major actor’, sources said that the US made it clear that India has played a constructive role in bringing about peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan. It was also made clear that “India needs to remain part of the process if she wants to contribute effectively ”, pointing out to the goodwill New Delhi enjoys in its ties with President Ashraf Ghani.

The recent attack on a Gurudwara in Kabul that killed 25 people and the plight of Sikh and Hindu minorities in Afghanistan was also discussed in the official talks between the two sides on Thursday. Incidentally a day after Khalilzad’s visit, Indian Ambassador in Beijing Vikram Misri also had a meeting with Chinese special envoy to Afghanistan.

“#Diplomacy must go on, even with masks on! Delighted to have a very good conversation with Ambassador Liu Jian on a subject of great importance to both our countries,” tweeted Misri.

Meanwhile, sources have cleared that even amid the worldwide lockdowns and restrictions, the Chabahar port continues to be operational and remains India’s ‘conduit for humanitarian supplies to Afghanistan’.

Government sources confirmed that India was transporting 75,000 tons of wheat via Iran’s Chahbahar port to Afghanistan of which 5000 tons were shipped last month and 10,000 tons were transported for shipping on Thursday. Additionally, India is also trying to send tea and sugar to Afghanistan with ‘Chabahar port proving very useful in India’s humanitarian assistance’, stressed sources.