Debating India’s stand on military aid to Afghanistan

One set of factors relate to Islamabad’s neuralgia on Delhi’s involvement in Afghanistan. Pakistan,which thinks Afghanistan should be its exclusive sphere of influence,would prefer to have zero Indian presence across its western borders.

Second,with Pakistan making a big deal out of Delhi’s rather limited security cooperation with Kabul,Washington has over the last few years cautioned India against raising its profile in Afghanistan beyond economic reconstruction. Even the Bush Administration,which was so friendly to India,was not enthusiastic about seeing the extension of Indo-Pak rivalry into Afghanistan.

Third,India itself has been hesitant about being drawn too deeply in Afghan security affairs. Although a small section of the security establishment was ready to consider joining the international military effort to stabilize Afghanistan,the consensus has remained firmly in favour of non-involvement.

Although Kabul would like India to do more on military cooperation,prudence has prevailed in Delhi. Realists in the South Block have always cautioned against a military role in Afghanistan,pointing to the extraordinary difficulties of sustaining it in the face of Pakistani hostility and international opposition.

Gen Mohammadi’s trip this week might give us some hints on whether anything has changed in the dynamic that has kept Indian military out of Afghanistan so far. The General’s visit to India comes at a time,when the US forces in Afghanistan have chosen to confront the Taliban in its strong holds in the southern and eastern parts of the country.

What we don’t know is whether its military surge in Afghanistan makes the Pentagon more open to security cooperation with India in the backyard of Pakistan. What we do know is that the Pak Army will definitely not accept a larger Indian military role on its western borders.

It might make sense for India,then,to frame the issue somewhat differently. Instead of debating whether we should send troops to Afghanistan,Delhi should look at a range of other ways it can help Kabul and Washington make the Afghan National Army a credible and effective fighting force. The best contribution that India could make might be in the areas of combat training and creating capacities in logistics and communications. India could also perhaps help the Afghans in re-building their Air Force.

(C. Raja Mohan is a Professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies,Nanyang Technological University,Singapore.)