Hyderabad: As the extended troika on Afghanistan meets in Qatar later on Wednesday amid the Taliban's rapid inroads in the South Asian country, India will continue to remain out of the picture in this key international diplomatic initiative.
While the US, China and Pakistan will participate in the meeting convened by Russia, Moscow has still not deemed it fit to give a place on the high table in Doha to India despite New Delhi playing a key role in the reconstruction of the war-ravaged nation.
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Last month, Russian Special Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said that India cannot participate in the format of the expanded group of three because it does not have any influence on the Taliban, TASS news agency reported.
"The format of the ‘Extended Troika’ with the participation of Russia, the US, China and Pakistan is convened exclusively to facilitate the launch of the intra-Afghan talks leading to a national accord. Only countries that have an unequivocal influence on both sides (of the conflict) participate," Kabulov was quoted as saying during an online discussion of the international Valdai discussion club.
"The Indians suspect the Pakistanis of striving to use Afghanistan as a strategic rear... The Pakistanis suspect India of wanting to use Afghan territories to harm Pakistan’s interests. This is their affair. As they say, a plague on both your houses," he said.
However, Kabulov foresees a significant role for India in the post-conflict development of Afghanistan.
"India’s future efforts, in a more expanded format will only be welcomed. This expanded format will involve Afghanistan’s post-conflict development. Here, India’s clout and its role are rather significant," he stated.
When asked about Russia not inviting India for the Doha talks, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, during his weekly press briefing August 5, said that “our two countries of course share our special and privileged strategic partnership”.
“We engage with Russia on a regular basis on Afghanistan,” Bagchi said.
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Instead of India, Russia sees a more important role for Iran in the conflict resolution process of Afghanistan and has regretted Tehran's inability to participate in Wednesday's proceedings given its strained ties with Washington.
"When the Extended Troika was established, the parties were guided by the understanding that Iran would be its fifth member,” Kabulov said last week during another online discussion hosted by the Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund.
“However, given the well-known situation in relations between Iran and the United States, the Iranians are for political and ideological reasons unwilling to come to the same negotiation table with the Americans and address issues. It is their right," he asserted.
"However, we regret it as we indeed miss Iran as a partner because, at this stage, it would be important for us to work together with the Iranians, Pakistanis, Chinese and Americans to end the stalemate in the political settlement process in Afghanistan."
Kabulov was personally of the view that Pakistan and Iran “are the most important and influential countries in terms of the Afghan issue”.
Meanwhile, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price, at a media briefing Tuesday, said that Washington's Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad will be participating in Wednesday's meeting in Doha to advance a collective international response to what can only be termed as a rapidly deteriorating security situation.
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“Those meetings, including one today, have and will include representatives from the region as well as beyond and from multilateral organisations to press for a reduction in this violence and a ceasefire and commitment by the part of these regional and broader governments and multilateral and international institutions not to recognise any government that is imposed by force,” Price said.
The US was initially supposed to fully withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by May 1 this year following the Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan signed between Washington and the Taliban in February last year. This was conditional to the fundamentalist outfit keeping its part of the promises.
The administration of President Joe Biden later announced that despite the withdrawal, it would keep 650 US troops in Afghanistan to defend the US Embassy in Kabul and defend the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul alongside Turkish troops. Last month, the Biden administration shifted the US withdrawal deadline to September 11..
India, meanwhile, has started evacuating its nationals from Afghanistan via special flights following a series of attacks on Hindus and Sikhs in that country by the Taliban.
