Seeking to assuage India’s concerns on Afghanistan, the US has assured it that the concers will neither be “overlooked nor undermined”. Washington has also told New Delhi that it will “consult very closely with it and others in the region” on matters concerning Afghanistan.
The assurance came during the fourth round of the India-US Strategic Dialogue in the Capital on Monday which was co-chaired by visiting US secretary of state John Kerry and external affairs minister Salman Khurshid.
Washington’s attempts to negotiate with the Taliban last week had left Afghan president Hamid Karzai’s fuming and prompted New Delhi to say that the reconciliation process should not seek to create “equivalence” between the Afghan government and insurgent groups. On Monday, Mr Kerry stated unequivocally that any negotiations will be held with the High Peace Council (HPC) of Afghanistan and not with the US. With the US changing its tune, Mr Kerry emphasised after Monday’s dialogue that his country is working closely with Mr Karzai and what’s required is an “Afghanistan-led process” where the US “will only negotiate under certain conditions”.
Mr Kerry also noted that “those conditions have not yet been met so there is no negotiation at this point.” The Taliban is required to snap its links with the Al Qaeda, abjure violence and abide by the Afghan Constitution as part of the red lines for them.
Until last week though, the US was all set to engage with the Taliban despite non-adherence to the red lines by the outfit. It was only Mr Karzai’s show of anger and his decision to call off security talks with the US that prompted Washington to backtrack on its overtures to the Taliban. US also appeared to be reaching out to India anew to clear the air on its recent moves to hold peace talks with the Taliban. Mr Kerry announced the US special representative on Afghanistan and Pakistan would be in New Delhi We-dnesday to meet officials.