The Afghan leadership will have no worries if India decides to engage with the Taliban, although a final decision on this matter is the prerogative of New Delhi, Afghan peace negotiator Abdullah Abdullah said on Saturday.
Abdullah, chairman of the Higher Council for National Reconciliation, is the senior Afghan leader to speak publicly on this issue, which has been the subject of debate in diplomatic and decision-making circles in New Delhi since last year.
After his meetings this week with India’s top leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and national security adviser Ajit Doval, Abdullah said in an interview that he had not discussed any “role military “of India in Afghanistan during his talks in New Delhi.
See: Abdullah Abdullah on Afghan Peace Talks, India Engages With Taliban | Worldview
“Whether India would like to engage with the Taliban or not, we don’t have an opinion one way or another. I have not asked for that commitment, but if India chooses to involve them, we will have no concerns about it. So that’s very clear, ”he said.
Abdullah said he had neither raised nor discussed India’s military role in Afghanistan during his meetings with the Indian leadership. “Analytically, it could have been in the public domain here, but personally, during my visit, we have not discussed it,” he said.
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Zalmay Khalilzad, the US special envoy for reconciliation in Afghanistan, suggested earlier this year that India should directly engage the Taliban to discuss its terrorism-related concerns, reinvigorating the debate over whether New Delhi should speak to the group. However, diplomatic circles remain skeptical of the Taliban’s intentions in light of the group’s deep ties to the Pakistani security system.
India’s decision to send an official delegation to the opening of the Afghan government-Taliban talks in Doha and the foreign minister’s speech to the event via video conference signaled a possible shift in New Delhi’s position.
Abdullah said he had come to New Delhi to brief the leaders here on the Doha negotiations, as India has contributed to the well-being of the Afghan people and is a “country that has a lot at stake in a peaceful settlement of the situation.” He added: “We were pleased that Foreign Minister S Jaishankar was also addressing the conference. [in Doha]. ”
Acknowledging that the pace of the Doha talks “is perhaps a bit slow” and that there must be a “significant reduction in violence” by the Taliban, Abdullah said the Afghan government delegation has been advised to be “patient. , flexible, innovative and trying to find a solution ”.
“Are both parties equally determined to achieve peace and to use this opportunity in the best interest of our own people? That would be put to the test. I have no doubt about the determination of the delegation from … Afghanistan, “he added.
In the wake of President Donald Trump’s stated intention to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan at the end of December, Abdullah reiterated that such a move would have consequences.
“If it’s premature withdrawal, it will have… consequences, but eventually we have to hold our ground. But it will not be the end of the United States’ commitment to support Afghanistan and we believe that their commitment is long-term, ”he said.
“What brought them to Afghanistan was the terrorist threats emanating from Afghanistan, which hurt them in the US. And I don’t think they want that situation to prevail in Afghanistan because we still have those challenges, including Al-Qaeda, ISIS and other terrorist groups “.
Responding to a question about the possible impact of India’s current tensions with Pakistan and China, Abdullah acknowledged that such issues “will certainly have some repercussions for us,” but insisted that one ” [and] stable Afghanistan is in everyone’s interest. ”
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