Kabul calling

In his Independence Day address, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made a special mention of his trip to Afghanistan 8212; which is to take place on Sunday. It will be the first primeministerial visit to Kabul since Indira Gandhi8217;s in 1976 and signifies India8217;s interest in regaining the cordiality of its old equation with Afghanistan. Signals from Kabul indicate a reciprocity of interest. Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has paid three official visits to this country, has conveyed his government8217;s interest in privileging Indo-Afghan ties.

Despite these larger strategic objectives, Manmohan Singh8217;s two-day visit is low-key, almost deliberately low-key. In many ways, the visit itself is the message. The focus will be on things developmental. What does help is the current cordiality in Indo-US ties. America, which has in the past viewed India8217;s involvement in Afghanistan with suspicion, is now more than willing to lend a hand in furthering friendship between the two countries.

The delicate issue is really handling Pakistan. Ever since the overthrow of the Taliban, the Musharraf government has done everything it could to queer the Indo-Afghan pitch. Even the humanitarian relief that India has sought to send to Afghanistan had to be re-routed through Iran. The fact is that Pakistan8217;s relations with Afghanistan have not been particularly cordial of late and Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had even visited Kabul last month to reassure Karzai about border security. It would be in India8217;s interests to calm Pakistan8217;s apprehensions about its renewed stake in Afghanistan, and take both countries along in its endeavour to stablise its presence in the area. Projects like the gas pipeline linking Turkmenistan with India would, in any case, require the active cooperation of both Afghanistan and Pakistan.