India backs Rabbani on Taliban talks; will discuss issue with Clinton next week

External affairs minister SM Krishna of India shaking hands with Prof Burhanuddin Rabbani, chairman of the Afghanistan high peace council, in New Delhi on Thursday

New Delhi

14 July 2011

Burhanuddin Rabbani, who heads a panel which has the Afghanistan government's mandate to negotiate peace with the Taliban, would not mind using the good offices of India for finding a political solution to the strife in his country.

India is an important country in the region and we want its cooperation in peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan, Mr Rabbani said on the occasion of his talks with external affairs minister SM Krishna in New Delhi on Thursday.

Mr Rabbani is on a four-day visit to India.

Afghans should not be victims in the hands of others to be used against the Afghan people themselves, Mr Rabbani said without elaborating. He noted that regional countries had a role in promoting peace in Afghanistan.

India was expected to discuss the situation in Afghanistan with US secretary of state Hillary Clinton when she visits New Delhi next week.

Talking to journalists, US charge d'affaires Peter Burleigh said Afghanistan could figure "prominently" in the Clinton-Krishna talks, in which the relations between and among the US, India and Pakistan would be "thoroughly covered".

Burleigh described the Taliban reconciliation talks as a "very important issue" for the US and India alike.

The US was keeping India informed of the substance of the "very preliminary discussions" that have taken place with the Taliban interlocutors.

The diplomat went on to note that the negotiations for "reaching an understanding" with "some Taliban elements" were making "slow process", and the talks could be expected to "continue for months".

"[The US is] continuing to explore [and it] will keep India directly informed and also seek advice," Mr Burleigh said.

The situation in west Asia, north Africa, and east- and south-east Asia, was also likely to be discussed in the second strategic dialogue between Clinton and Krishna on July 19.

Replying to a question about the possible implications of the US losing out on a multi-billion tender for fighter jets for the Indian Air Force, on the defence cooperation with India, Mr Burleigh said "one contract here and there [does not] make or break [the] relationship" and that the US was in it for the long-term.

India tells US: The "war on terror" cannot end with Osama's killing

New Delhi

4 May 2011

India has reminded the US, flush from its success in liquidating Osama bin Laden, that the war on terror cannot end without the elimination of terrorist safe havens inside Pakistan.

India was categorical that Osama's death was "not an end of what remains an ongoing war" against terrorism. More so because Al Qaeda's affiliates such as the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) remain formidable and continue to espouse violent ideology.

At the same time, Osama's killing had brought home the cold reality that India was "alone" in its fight against terrorism: That Washington could not be expected to fight Delhi's battles, and that Pakistan's strategic value to the US will likely remain.

Another reality was that while Osama's killing would have brought closure for the 9/11 victims in the US, there could not be any for the 26/11 victims till the terrorist camps in Pakistan or Pakistani-held territory were dismantled.

An official source explained away the difficulties by saying that there will always come moments in the US' relations with Pakistan when certain decisions that will be taken will not be palatable to India.

However, the source was quick to point out that there were reasons for India to be "satisfied" with how its ties with the US had "matured" over the years, and that both sides were collaborating on issues of mutual interest or concern.

For instance, New Delhi would be looking to Washington for its views about whether and how "Operation Geronimo" would affect the balance of power between civilian government and the military in Pakistan.

New Delhi was assessing the impact of Osama's killing on the role of the "larger than life" institutions in Pakistan such as the army and the ISI as it could have a bearing on Pakistan's disposition towards India, and tied to it would be the fate of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Pakistan initiative and the resumed peace process.

Another issue that will engage the attention of India going forward is Afghanistan, as the US prepares to draw down its forces there. New Delhi was against allowing Islamabad a veto over India's role in Afghanistan.

These, and other issues, were expected to come up in the second round of the India-US strategic dialogue, to be held in July, when US secretary of state Hillary Clinton will arrive here for talks with external affairs minister SM Krishna.