Thaindian News

By Dipankar De Sarkar
London, Jan 28 (IANS) India said it is “quite satisfied” with its current developmental role in Afghanistan but stopped short of rejecting any offers of an expanded security responsibility as a global conference began Thursday to secure the future of the terror-racked South Asian nation.

“We do not know what is going to emerge out of this conference - depending upon what emerges, the role of India will become much clearer,” said External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, one of the leaders from 68 countries who have gathered in the British capital for the daylong conference.

“But as of today our role, because of our long-standing relationship with Afghanistan, (is that) we are helping them out in their development agenda of infrastructure development.

“And we are quite satisfied with the role that we have in Afghanistan,” he said.

Krishna added: “We appreciate the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s call for India’s involvement in the emerging scenario of Afghanistan.”

Significantly, Krishna described Afghanistan as falling in the “immediate neighbourhood” of Afghanistan, scotching Pakistani objections to a greater role for India on the grounds that it was not an “immediate neighbour”.

Krishna’s comments were made after a meeting with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband Wednesday and in the backdrop of Brown’s statement Tuesday that India has “a big role to play” in helping sustain democracy in Afghanistan.

The Indian role came into focus after recent suggestions by British authorities that India may be asked to help train Afghan police to facilitate the gradual withdrawal of the estimated 100,000 troops from 43 NATO-led ISAF countries (International Security Assistance Force) who are present in Afghanistan.

Brown said Wednesday the international community wanted to increase the strength of Afghan police and military from the current 90,000 each to 300,000 police and 175,000 soldiers.

Recent reports say that Afghan security forces gave a credible account of themselves when suicide bombers struck multiple targets in Kabul Jan 17, leaving 12 people, including several attackers, dead and 71 injured. Led by correct intelligence and supported by some NATO soldiers, the Afghan troops brought the attack under control within five hours of its launch.

Analysts say India’s role will remain “big” in Afghanistan - whether it is in infrastructure development, furthering democracy or training security forces.

Richard Holbrooke, the US envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, said in London Wednesday: “I am not going to talk about time frames (for troops withdrawal). What I certainly will say is that civilian efforts should continue after the military troops have gone.”

(Dipankar De Sarkar can be contacted at dd.sarkar@ians.in)