Should we oppose India’s role in Afghanistan?

Pakistan has always maintained that India does not have any legitimate role in the Afghan peace process

The Biden administration launched a renewed push to seek an end to the war in Afghanistan. A leaked letter written by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to President Ashraf Ghani has outlined the new US government’s plan. The four-point strategy unveiled by Secretary Blinken envisages inclusive government, a 90-day reduction in violence and high-level talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Turkey. One of the key proposals includes the UN-sponsored meeting of foreign ministers of the US, China, Russia, Pakistan, Iran and India. The UN meeting of the key regional players is aimed at discussing the “unified approach” for Afghan peace. “It is my belief that these countries share an abiding common interest in a stable Afghanistan and must work together if we are to succeed,” Secretary Blinken wrote.

While Pakistan favours the regional consensus on the Afghan endgame, it has serious reservations over the inclusion of India in the process. The Foreign Office has minced no words when it stated that India has not been a “constructive partner for peace in Afghanistan”.

“At the same time, we need to remain cognizant of the role of spoilers,” the FO said in a statement. “It is important to guard against the detrimental role of ‘spoilers’, both within and outside Afghanistan, who do not wish to see return of peace in the region,” the statement added.

Pakistan’s reaction is not surprising given it has always maintained that India does not have any legitimate role in the Afghan peace process. Islamabad is clear that only the immediate neighbours of Afghanistan should be part of the process. India, according to Pakistan, does not share a border with Afghanistan, therefore giving it any role in the Afghan endgame does not make any sense.

However, there is a counter argument too. Even people from within the diplomatic community in Pakistan believe that Pakistan should not object to the invitation to India. Former ambassador to India Abdul Basit thinks India’s inclusion in the Afghan endgame will pressure the South Asian country to act responsibly in the Afghan affairs. He is of the view that Pakistan should welcome this move as India cannot dilute Pakistan’s importance in the Afghan peace process.

Pakistan and India have often blamed each other for using the volatile Afghan situation to undermine each other’s interests. India has accused Pakistan of supporting the Afghan Taliban to pursue its strategic interests, something New Delhi thinks is detrimental to its security. Pakistan, meanwhile, has stated it a number of times and even presented ‘irrefutable evidence’ to show that Indian secret agencies were using Afghan soil to undermine Pakistan’s security. Islamabad has no doubt that India is backing and funding groups like the banned TTP and other such entities to destabilise Pakistan.

Peace in Afghanistan is not possible without consensus among the different groups within Afghanistan and broader understanding among the regional players including between Pakistan and India. For this purpose, perhaps it is not a bad idea inviting Pakistan and India along with other regional players to have open and candid discussions on their respective concerns. Pakistan, for example, can use the opportunity to present all the evidence and dossiers before the UN meeting about India’s involvement in terrorist activities in Pakistan. Islamabad’s concerns with regard to India’s negative role in Afghanistan can only be addressed if there are direct talks between all the parties concerned. The US, meanwhile, is likely to sidestep Pakistan’s reservations and invite India. Therefore, Pakistan needs to revisit its approach as some may argue that the road to peace between Pakistan and India passes through Afghanistan!

 

 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 15^th, 2021.

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