Karzai reassured of India's support

During the talks Manmohan Singh and Afghan President Hamid Karzai discussed a whole raft of issues impinging directly on peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Backing "an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned" rebuilding of Afghanistan, Manmohan Singh underlined India's unwavering commitment to continuing reconstruction work in that country and said repeated attacks on Indians would not deter his country from carrying on with this process.

Commitment to assist Afghanistan

Prime Minister Singh said India remained committed to assisting Afghanistan in its development efforts and said the development partnership was focused on areas of infrastructure development, human resource development and capacity building, food assistance and small development projects that bring immediate benefit to the people at the grass-roots level.

India has pledged $1.3 billion (almost one billion euros) for a slew of reconstruction and infrastructure projects in Afghanistan.

But at the same time he sought an assurance that the security of Indians in Afghanistan would be treated with utmost priority considering the recent attacks on Indian nationals. "On the issue of terrorism which threatens our region, President Karzai assured me that the government of Afghanistan will take all possible measures for the security of Indians in Afghanistan," said Singh.

Opposing external interference in the affairs of Afghanistan, India cautioned President Karzai against any power sharing deal with the Taliban and urged a joint approach to combat the terrorism threatening the region.

Common struggle against terrorism

Underlining the common struggle against terrorism and extremism Karzai briefed Manmohan Singh on the peace jirga, an assembly of tribal elders, he plans to convene next month and the ongoing efforts to integrate those elements of the Taliban which have no links with al Qaeda or any terrorist network.

Amitabh Mattoo, an expert on South Asia, was invited for the lunch reception hosted for Karzai. He said India conveyed its concerns on security and the fight against terrorism.

"Obviously at the top of the agenda, the so-called reintegration process, the security situation in Afghanistan and the need to build the capacity of the Afghan national army and the police are on top for anyone who speaks about Afghanistan, whether it is President Karzai or otherwise, and given what has happened in the last few weeks, the sense of triumphalism within Pakistan, that its position within Afghanistan seems to be recognized by the West, I think given all this, India must have expressed concern."

Skepticism on Taliban reintegration

Manmohan Singh is reported to have conveyed India's concerns over a plan, backed at the London conference in January, to reintegrate a section of the Taliban in the Afghan political mainstream.

New Delhi, which has always opposed any distinction between the so-called good Taliban and bad Taliban, fears such a move, pushed by the international coalition engaged in Kabul, could lead to increased Pakistani influence on the affairs of Afghanistan and may jeopardize regional stability.

Karzai also requested Manmohan Singh to send representatives to the follow-up to the Western-backed London conference in Kabul later this year and invited him to visit Afghanistan. The Afghan President is en route to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in Thimphu that begins on Wednesday.

Author: Murali Krishnan (New Delhi)
Editor: Grahame Lucas