Tweet
India and Afghanistan will sign a historic strategic partnership document during President Hamid Karzai’s visit to India next week. The agreement will build on the understanding reached between the two countries when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Kabul in May. It will be Afghanistan’s first strategic agreement with any country.
While the agreement will include an Indian commitment to assist and train Afghan national security forces, the nature of such assistance will be determined by Kabul, sources said.
India is already running several training courses in India, and increasing the number of Afghan security officials in Indian academies. It may play a larger role in developing the Afghan police force.
The strategic partnership document will institutionalise regular dialogue at the level of the National Security Adviser, which will focus on cooperation in sensitive security aspects of the relationship. Like in other spheres of the partnership, sources said, New Delhi will not look to dictate the pace and scope of security cooperation, and would rather want Kabul to take the lead.
Karzai’s visit comes at a time when Afghanistan-Pakistan relations are strained. On Friday, in a statement issued in Kabul, Karzai mentioned India along with the US and Europe as future partners with whom it might “work closely” rather than trying to negotiate with Taliban groups.
“Despite three years of talks, coming and going, good intentions and efforts made by Afghanistan for peace and the initiation of good relations with Pakistan, the Pakistani government has not taken any measures for closing down its terrorist safe havens nor prevented training and equipping of terrorists on its soil,” Karzai said.
Afghanistan’s policy shift has been provoked by the assassination of former president Buhranuddin Rabbani. Initial investigations have apparently shown that the assassins came from Quetta, where they received training. Kabul has sought Islamabad’s cooperation in the probe, and is learnt to have passed on evidence through US interlocutors.
With US and NATO troops on pullout mode, New Delhi has intensified efforts to strengthen its partnership with Afghanistan. Singh’s visit in May was meant to lay the basis of this partnership. Both sides agreed to raise the profile of their relationship and negotiate an agreement.
Broadly, the agreement will have political, economic and people-to-people components, and will be piloted by a partnership council headed by the two foreign ministers. Several joint working groups will be set up in due course. Besides peace and security issues, the agreement will institutionalise regular consultations on forging common positions at the UN and other international bodies.
The Cabinet Committee on Security is expected to give its approval to the agreement ahead of Karzai’s arrival.
Indo-Afghan strategic pact to be inked during Karzai visit - Indian Express
While the agreement will include an Indian commitment to assist and train Afghan national security forces, the nature of such assistance will be determined by Kabul, sources said.
India is already running several training courses in India, and increasing the number of Afghan security officials in Indian academies. It may play a larger role in developing the Afghan police force.
The strategic partnership document will institutionalise regular dialogue at the level of the National Security Adviser, which will focus on cooperation in sensitive security aspects of the relationship. Like in other spheres of the partnership, sources said, New Delhi will not look to dictate the pace and scope of security cooperation, and would rather want Kabul to take the lead.
Karzai’s visit comes at a time when Afghanistan-Pakistan relations are strained. On Friday, in a statement issued in Kabul, Karzai mentioned India along with the US and Europe as future partners with whom it might “work closely” rather than trying to negotiate with Taliban groups.
“Despite three years of talks, coming and going, good intentions and efforts made by Afghanistan for peace and the initiation of good relations with Pakistan, the Pakistani government has not taken any measures for closing down its terrorist safe havens nor prevented training and equipping of terrorists on its soil,” Karzai said.
Afghanistan’s policy shift has been provoked by the assassination of former president Buhranuddin Rabbani. Initial investigations have apparently shown that the assassins came from Quetta, where they received training. Kabul has sought Islamabad’s cooperation in the probe, and is learnt to have passed on evidence through US interlocutors.
With US and NATO troops on pullout mode, New Delhi has intensified efforts to strengthen its partnership with Afghanistan. Singh’s visit in May was meant to lay the basis of this partnership. Both sides agreed to raise the profile of their relationship and negotiate an agreement.
Broadly, the agreement will have political, economic and people-to-people components, and will be piloted by a partnership council headed by the two foreign ministers. Several joint working groups will be set up in due course. Besides peace and security issues, the agreement will institutionalise regular consultations on forging common positions at the UN and other international bodies.
The Cabinet Committee on Security is expected to give its approval to the agreement ahead of Karzai’s arrival.
Indo-Afghan strategic pact to be inked during Karzai visit - Indian Express
Comment