With violence spiking in Afghanistan’s all the warring sides have returned to the negotiation table, ending more than a month of delays amid hopes that the two sides can agree on a reduction of violence.
US President Joe Biden has recently said it would be tough to meet the deadline to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan by May 1, as agreed with the Taliban in a deal secured under Donald Trump.
The Pact
The Trump administration made withdrawing troops from Afghanistan a priority. The deal signed in February 2020 said that the US and its Nato allies would withdraw all troops in 14 months if the Taliban upheld its promises, including not allowing al-Qaeda or other militants to operate in areas it controlled.
Evolving Indian stand
India and Afghanistan ties are as ancient as history as both nations have a strong relationship based on historical and cultural links. India has played a significant role in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Afghanistan.
India is an important player in the peace process – it has also been acknowledged by the USA. India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar reiterated that the peace process must be Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan controlled.
India has invested heavily in infrastructure developments, training security forces, and supplying them with the necessary equipment as it has a major stake in the stability of Afghanistan since it has invested considerable resources in the region’s development.
Both nations hope to have a role in setting the terms especially concerning terrorism, violence, women’s rights, and democratic values. Moreover, India’s pledged assistance to Afghanistan stands at a little under U.S. $2 billion, making it the fifth-largest bilateral donor.
On 23 July 2020, the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) organized a special digital conversation with Mohammad Haneef Atmar, the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
On India’s role in the peace process, Minister Atmar emphasized the need to preserve the longstanding partnership that New Delhi has developed with Afghanistan over the years.
He further highlighted the importance of India and Afghanistan and hoped to work towards achieving a regional consensus on the same. The Afghan government will continue to seek India’s partnership on platforms like the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) as well as bilaterally, on security and economic relations.
So far, India has played a significant role in promoting regional connectivity as a trilateral agreement involving Iran was signed in May 2016, which would use Chabahar port to augment connectivity in the region.
Indian Projects in Afghanistan
India has signed an agreement with Afghanistan for the construction of the Shahtoot Dam, which would meet the safe drinking water needs of Kabul City. This is the second major dam being built by India in Afghanistan, after the India- Afghanistan Friendship Dam, Salma Dam.
Large infrastructure projects completed include the construction of a 218-km road between Delaram and Zaranj (on the Iranian border), which provides alternative connectivity, and the Afghan Parliament building which was inaugurated in 2015 by PM Narendra Modi.
Commercial relations- Afghanistan has been an important trading and craft centre for over 2000 years connecting the civilizations of Persia, Central Asia with India. The inauguration of the Dedicated Air Cargo Corridor in June 2017 between Kabul-Delhi and Kandahar-Delhi has provided a fresh impetus to bilateral trade. In addition to this, India has completed more than 400 projects covering all 34 provinces of Afghanistan.
Under Vaccine Maitri Afghanistan also received 5,00,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from India on which Afghan President Ashraf Ghani expressed his profound gratitude to the Indian Government for sending the consignment and helping Afghanistan in checking the spread of the pandemic.
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