Thaindian News

New Delhi, April 25 (IANS) A day before Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrives here on a two-day visit, his Foreign Minister Zalmay Rassoul Sunday held talks that saw India airing its concerns over a proposal to reintegrate the Taliban in Afghanistan.
External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna met Rassoul over dinner and conveyed New Delhi’s sense of unease about the consequences of any power-sharing arrangement with the Taliban, sources said.

India has always opposed any artificial distinction between good Taliban and bad Taliban and regard any power-sharing deal as a threat to its interests and to regional stability, the sources said.

Rassoul, on his part, briefed the Indian side on the “peace jirga”, a meeting of tribal elders that is expected to be held next month after Karzai returns from visit to Washington.

Ever since the Jan 28 London conference that cleared the way for reintegration of the Taliban into the Afghan mainstream, India has aired its anxieties many a time about any power-sharing arrangement with the hardline militia that could lead to an increased influence of Pakistan in the affairs of Afghanistan.

When Manmohan Singh meets Karzai Monday morning, he is likely to caution the Afghan president about the perils of accommodating the Taliban into the government that New Delhi feels militates not only against its interests, but goes against the larger objective of restoring peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Karzail will also call on President Pratibha Patil. The Afghan president will then leave for the Bhutanese capital Thimphu Tuesday to participate in the 16th summit meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

Manmohan Singh will also convey to Karzai India’s concerns over the volatile security situation in the country and review steps being taken to bolster security of over 3,500 Indians engaged in various reconstruction activities in the violence-torn country.

“We are constantly vigilant and seized of all these matters,” Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao told reporters here recently when asked to react to reports that suggest more attacks are being planned on Indians in Afghanistan.

Krishna told parliament recently that India has no plans to scale down its operations in Afghanistan in the wake of the Feb 26 attack in Kabul, in which seven Indians were killed.

He also stressed that it has comprehensively reviewed and enhanced security measures for the safety of its personnel and other Indians working there.

Seventeen Indians have been killed in Afghanistan since 2008.