'India, US should jointly work to bring stability to Afghanistan'

WASHINGTON: As NATO prepares to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of 2014 and transfer security to local forces, India and the US have a historic opportunity to work together in brining stability to the war-torn country, a noted expert has said.

Washington-Kabul strategic partnership agreement provides India with crucial space for diplomatic maneuvering so as to regain lost ground and expand its footprint in a neighbouring state where it remains hugely popular despite the "lack of seriousness" in its policy approach, Harsh V Pant, from King's College London, said in a report titled 'India's Changing Afghanistan Policy: Regional and Global Implications'.

Released by the Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) of the US Army War College, the report said that as Washington and Kabul turn a new page in Afghan saga, New Delhi would be eager to take this opportunity to make itself a more credible actor in its neighbourhood.

"An attempt to beef up intelligence sharing between India and Afghanistan is the first step in the operationalisation of the India-Afghan strategic partnership, but much more concrete steps are needed to ensure that New Delhi maintains a substantial presence in Afghanistan," it said.

There has been a persistent complaint in the corridors of power in New Delhi that the Obama administration sacrificed Indian interests at the altar of pleasing Pakistan, which further allowed Pakistan's proxies to destabilise Afghanistan, Pant said.

"Now that Washington is making it clear that it views Pakistan as part of the problem and India as part of the solution, New Delhi and Washington have a historic opportunity to work together in bringing stability and security in Afghanistan," said the report.

In his forward to the report, Douglas C Lovelace, Director of SSI, said as the US-led NATO forces prepare to leave Afghanistan in 2014, India stands at a crossroads as it remains keen to preserve its interests in Afghanistan.

"New Delhi expects anarchy to intensify in the northwestern subcontinent, as insurgents in Afghanistan have been repeatedly successful in undermining local and international confidence in the viability of extant political structures in Kabul amidst the withdrawal of Western forces," he wrote.

"Insulating India from the widening disorder will remain the main strategic objective of New Delhi's policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan. India is trying to ensure that it does not lose out, as has happened in the past, as new realities emerge in the region in the coming years," said Lovelace.