Thaindian News

New Delhi, Aug 24 (IANS) India Tuesday reiterated its unstinted commitment to the reconstruction of Afghanistan, but cautioned against any “external interference” in its affairs when Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmay Rassoul met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Rassoul, who arrived in India on a three-day visit Tuesday, called on Manmohan Singh and updated him on the ongoing efforts of the Afghan government to bring peace to the country, informed sources said.

He also told the prime minister about the Sep 18 parliamentary election and the preparations for the event.

Manmohan Singh wished Afghanistan success and underlined New Delhi’s willingness to continue assisting in the country’s reconstruction.

India’s $1.3 billion assistance for varied projects in Afghanistan and new initiatives in form of agriculture and small grassroot developmental projects also came up for review, the sources said.

The prime minister also made it clear that the plan to integrate the Taliban should observe red lines, a position India enunciated at the July 20 Kabul conference.

New Delhi is of the view that only those elements of the Taliban who renounce violence, cut off links with terrorism and accept the Afghan constitution should be accommodated.

In a veiled reference to Pakistan, the prime minister stressed that India was opposed to any external interference in Afghan affairs and reiterated that the peace process should be Afghan-led and Afghan-driven.

“Despite the heinous attacks by forces inimical to India-Afghanistan friendship on our embassy in Kabul in July 2008 and again in October 2009 and on Indian interests in February 2010, India remains committed to assisting the people and government of Afghanistan,” Vishnu Prakash, the spokesperson of the external affairs ministry, told reporters here.

The first stand-alone visit by Rassoul to India since he became foreign minister in January comes soon after Afghan National Security Adviser Rangin Dadfar Spanta accused Pakistan’s military-intelligence establishment of harbouring the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

“While we are losing dozens of men and women to terrorist attacks every day, the terrorists’ main mentor continues to receive billions of dollars in aid and assistance. How is this fundamental contradiction justified,” Spanta wrote in a hard-hitting article in Afghanistan.

The two sides will hold extensive discussions on the evolving Afghan situation when External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna meets Rassoul Wednesday for delegation-level talks.

Krishna is likely to convey that the Taliban re-integration process should factor in India’s concerns as it continues to get intelligence reports about plans of Pakistan-aided militant outfits like the Haqqani network to target Indian assets in Afghanistan, the sources said.

The two sides will also discuss the role of a regional approach involving neighbours of Afghanistan in stabilising that country. India has been in close touch with Russia and Iran over closer cooperation in Afghanistan. The regional approach will be discussed, the sources said.