India is finally at the table with five other countries to decide on the roadmap for peace in Afghanistan after six months of hectic behind-the-scenes diplomacy, sources told The Indian Express.
Washington suggested this mechanism even when it emerged that Moscow suggested a plan that kept New Delhi out.
The sources said that Russian interlocutors, amid the growing proximity between Moscow and Beijing, suggested that Russia, China, the United States, Pakistan and Iran should be at the table.
This, the officials said, was apparently done at the behest of Pakistan, which has never wanted India to be part of any roadmap for the region.
But New Delhi, long on the sidelines, reached out to all the key players in Afghanistan and other countries to come to the negotiating table. “Our interests must be protected … the next few months are the key to progress,” said a senior official.
By being part of the team, New Delhi hopes to have a role in setting the terms, especially when it comes to terrorism, violence, women’s rights and democratic values. India’s refrain has been that it wants an Afghan-led, Afghan-controlled, and Afghan-owned process, but the fundamental reality has been such that other actors have dictated the terms.
According to a report first published by Tolo News, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sent a letter last week to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and the chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, Abdullah Abdullah. In it, he proposed a regional conference under the auspices of the UN with the foreign ministers of the United States, India, Russia, China, Pakistan and Iran to discuss a “unified approach” on Afghanistan.
From the Indian side, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar could join in, the sources said. This was part of the telephone conversation between Jaishankar and the US special envoy in Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, on Sunday.
New Delhi’s diplomatic groundwork, sources said, included talks during former Afghan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum’s visits to India in September last year; and by former Afghanistan chief executive Abdullah Abdullah (now chairman of the High Peace Council) and Afghan leader Ata Mohammad Noor in October.
This was followed by a leisurely trip to Afghanistan by the NSA Ajit Doval in January this year, when he met with Kabul’s political leaders.
What also helped, the sources said, is New Delhi’s commitment to Iran and its strategic investment in the development of the Chabahar port as a gateway to Afghanistan.
The Biden administration’s proposal is also a recognition of India’s proactive role in the Afghan reconstruction process, an official said. The current approach to Islamabad on the ceasefire throughout the LoC will also be a factor on the table.
Blinken’s letter called for talks between Afghan elders and the Taliban in Turkey in the coming weeks to come up with a revised proposal for a 90-day reduction in violence. He also asked Khalilzad to share with the Afghan government and the Taliban written proposals to help speed up discussions.
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