NEW DELHI – Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat opines that with manycountries talking to the Taliban, India cannot be out of the bandwagon.
Amid a rising number of countries participating in talkswith Taliban, Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat has stated that it istime that India engages directly with the Taliban if India has interestsin Afghanistan. General Rawat was addressing an annual press briefingin New Delhi on Thursday.
“If a number of counties are talking to the Taliban, then India cannot beout of the bandwagon. If India has interests in Afghanistan, then we shouldjoin the bandwagon,” he said.
The army chief also said that talks with Taliban should be unconditional.”It is in our interest, in the region’s interest and in Pakistan’sinterest,” he added.
The army chief’s statement contrasts with that of India’s Ministryof External Affairs, which had reiterated on several occasions that NewDelhi backs the official ‘peace and reconciliation process’ in Afghanistan,a process that involves talks with the Taliban to bring it into the Afghanpolitical mainstream.
A highly placed government official told Sputnik that India will not bedirectly engaged with the Taliban and if there is any engagement it will bewithin the framework of Afghanistan’s constitution and will be ‘Afghan-ledand Afghan-owned.’
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Ever since India had participated in the ‘Moscow Format’ talks in Novemberof last year by sending its retired ambassadors, TCA Raghavan and AmarSinha, where the Taliban members were also present, it was speculated thatIndia had diluted its stance on Afghanistan.
Refuting this perception, the Ministry of External Affairs clarified,saying that the ‘Moscow format’ meeting — which brought together Talibanrepresentatives on the same table with delegates from several countries,including India, Pakistan, Iran and China — was at an ‘unofficial level’and that India was not directly in talks with the Taliban.
Earlier this week, Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif offeredto use his country’s influence over the Taliban on behalf of India.
These developments assume significance as US Special Representativefor Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad is visitingIndia during his first visit to New Delhi after assuming office.
