Why in news?
- Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai has welcomed the American gesture to bring in India into the ongoing negotiation for sustained peace in the war-torn country.
- The Afghanistan President said that he hopes India will join the peace process in support of a sovereign and united Afghanistan with a strong government, in keeping with the traditional friendship between India and Afghanistan.
- During his visit to Delhi in January, Mr. Karzai had also pitched for India’s support to the U.S.-Taliban and intra-Afghan dialogue process in meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
- During his visit to Delhi in January, Mr. Karzai had also pitched for India’s support to the U.S.-Taliban and intra-Afghan dialogue process in meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
- The conversation is important as India was left out of a multi-nation dialogue held on 16th April which focused on comprehensive peace process in Afghanistan through intra-Afghan negotiations and on the importance of regional cooperation in support of Afghanistan.
- India has maintained that it wants the intra-Afghan dialogue to be conducted on the basis of “Afghan-owned and Afghan-led” process though it has not yet formally opened up to Taliban.
India’s Concerns regarding the U.S. Taliban Deal
- In the Doha agreement, The U.S. appears to submit to the possibility of a Taliban-led government, by extracting promises that the Taliban will not provide “visas, passports, travel documents or asylum” to those threatening the U.S. and its allies.
- This sidelines the “Intra-Afghan” dialogue, and India’s support for the election process for leadership in Afghanistan.
- India cannot look at the agreements or the route to Kabul via Washington’s view the
- Ghani government, which India has recognised as winner of the 2019 election, will only serve for an interim period.
- This also raises a big question mark on the future of Afghanistan’s government, and whether it will remain a democracy.
- The Afghanistan-Pakistan dialogue facilitated by the U.S. on cross-border terrorism and mechanisms must not cut India out of the region’s security architecture.