Delhi wants to cash in on AfPak tiff

Throws weight behind Afghan Taliban on recent 'air strikes' issue

ISLAMABAD:

India on Monday condemned air strikes that Pakistan publicly never acknowledged in Afghanistan, backing the interim administration of Afghan Taliban, who were once viewed by New Delhi as Pakistan's proxy.

Nearly two weeks after Pakistan's reported strikes in Paktika province of Afghanistan, the Indian External Affairs Ministry issued an unusual statement, condemning the strikes.

"We have noted the media reports on airstrikes on Afghan civilians, including women and children, in which several precious lives have been lost," Indian Foreign Ministry's Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement in New Delhi

"We unequivocally condemn any attack on innocent civilians. It is an old practice of Pakistan to blame its neighbours for its own internal failures. We have also noted the response of an Afghan spokesperson in this regard," he added.

The Indian official commentary on the Pakistan-Afghanistan tensions suggested New Delhi's push to take advantage of the current rift between the two neighbours.

There was no official reaction yet from the Pakistani side about the Indian move but official sources pointed out that New Delhi's statement was factually incorrect.

Pakistan's strikes in border areas had no Afghan fatalities and casualties but the Indian statement suggested that Afghan civilians including women and children were killed, according to sources. The Afghan government even admitted that those who were killed were from Pakistan.

While Kabul claimed those who were hit by the strikes were Pakistan refugees, sources in Islamabad stressed that the target of the specific and intelligence based operations in border areas was the terrorist hideouts of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

As relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan continue to deteriorate, India and the Afghan Taliban are trying to establish some kind of working relationship.

India despite having a troubled history with the Afghan Taliban has reached out to the interim government. Senior Indian foreign ministry officials twice travelled to Kabul and met the Taliban leadership. One such visit happened only a few months ago when an Indian senior diplomat responsible for Pakistan, Afghanistan region visited Kabul and met for the first time with Afghan Defense Minister Mullah Yaqub.

This is seen as a dramatic transformation in the Indian approach towards the Afghan Taliban, who had been long viewed by New Delhi as Pakistan's proxy. India in the past accused the Afghan Taliban for carrying out attacks against its interests in Afghanistan and also harboring anti-Indian militant groups.

However, since the Taliban's return to power, there has been an eagerness from both Indian and the Afghan Taliban to improve their relationship.