india

Updated: Jan 02, 2019 00:07 IST

India is keeping a close watch on efforts to involve the Taliban in a peace process in Afghanistan, and on Pakistan’s activism in the region, though it has no plans to play any military role in the war-torn country, two people familiar with the development said on condition of anonymity.

The people described developments over the past month, especially US special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad’s outreach to the Taliban, as “fast paced” and said a review was underway to assess the implications of these moves for India.

Following the two-day talks between a Taliban team and Khalilzad in Abu Dhabi last month, Iran’s top security official Ali Shamkhani confirmed last week that Tehran, too, had been holding talks with the Taliban and that these discussions would continue.

Subsequently, Iran’s foreign ministry said a Taliban delegation visited the country on December 30 and met deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi to discuss efforts for a negotiated end of the 17-year war. India is also following the reported plan of the US to withdraw 7,000 troops from Afghanistan and the people cited above said New Delhi believes this withdrawal will be gradual to allow the Afghan national defence forces to fill the gaps.

Noting that the US was bringing its troop levels to what they were in 2014, a person said: “Of course it will have an impact…It is going to be tough to fill in the gaps with such a large withdrawal.”

The review currently underway will focus on the implications of the fast-paced developments of the past month, including “Pakistan’s activism”, the person said, adding that foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had visited Afghanistan, Iran, China and Russia to discuss Pakistan’s role in the process.

The people cited above ruled out any Indian military involvement in Afghanistan or any direct talks with the Taliban. “We are fully supportive of the current government, and we believe there must be a dialogue between the government and other political forces for the peace process,” a second person said.

“We would like to be part of all processes and we have tried to participate in as many as we can. India has legitimate interests in Afghanistan and we would like to preserve them,” the second person added.

Nitin Pai, director of Takshashila Institution, said it would be better for India to prepare for the long haul and deal with whoever eventually comes to power in Kabul.

“It is better to deal with the outcome instead of trying to engineer one, because we lack the capacity to engineer an outcome to our liking,” he said. “Whoever comes to power, even if it is the Taliban, will have to deal with us.”