Opinion Karzai in Pakistan

India must wish Kabul and Islamabad well in their search for this double reconciliation.

June 11, 2011 08:56 PM IST First published on: Jun 11, 2011 at 08:56 PM IST

Given the new intensity and frequency of high level political contact between Kabul on the one hand and Islamabad and Delhi on the other,it is quite easy to imagine the persistence of a zero-sum game between India and Pakistan in Afghanistan.

At the end of Afghan President Hamid Karzais weekend visit to Pakistan,what we see is the unfolding of a complex regional dynamic amidst the impending reduction in U.S. military foot print in Afghanistan,secret negotiations for reconciliation with the Taliban,and the new tension between the Obama Administration and the Pakistan Army since the killing of bin Laden on May 2.

But first to the contacts. Karzais visit to Islamabad comes less than two months after the Pak premier Yusuf Raza Gilani visited Kabul accompanied by a high powered delegation that included the army chief Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani the ISI boss,Lt Gen. Shuja Pasha,and the defence,home and foreign ministers.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had gone to Kabul in May to announce the establishment of a strategic partnership. Within three weeks,the defence minister of Afghanistan,Abdul Rahim Wardak arrived in Delhi in early June to deepen security cooperation with India.

None of this suggests symmetry in Pakistan and Indian relationship with Afghanistan. With nearly 2500 km of open border,called the Durand Line,and millions of Pashtuns straddling across it,the relationship between Kabul and Islamabad is unique.

In contrast,India does not have any operational border with Afghanistan. In recognition of the different impulses shaping Kabuls bilateral relations with Islamabad and Delhi,Dr. Singh during his visit to Afghanistan last month did not criticise either Pakistan or the Taliban.

India understands that ending the war in Afghanistan,which has now spilled over into Pakistan,requires genuine cooperation between Kabul and Islamabad. It also needs reconciliation with the Taliban,which fights the Karzai government from its sanctuaries in Pakistan.

Karzais current engagement of Pakistan is an exploration of the prospects for that twin reconciliation.

During Karzais visit,the two sides issued an Islamabad Declaration that calls for deeper political and economic cooperation and the development of trans-border infrastructure,including the building of rail links between Peshawar and Jalalabad.

They underlined the importance of expanding a new bilateral trade and transit agreement that comes into force from Sunday to cover the central Asian nations.

Karzai and the Pak President Asif Ali Zardari chaired a session of the Joint Peace and Reconciliation Commission that seeks to engage the Taliban.

India must wish Kabul and Islamabad well in their search for this double reconciliation. Sceptics,however,point to the long history of mutual distrust and hostility between the two countries. They also underline the Pak Armys long-standing attempt to increase its influence in Afghanistan through proxy forces.

It is no wonder that Karzai,while reaching out to Pakistan,also takes insurance by befriending other neighbours. Thats where India comes in.

A genuine rapprochement between Kabul and Islamabad is in the interest of India and the region. As it looks forward to such an outcome,India has every reason to help Karzai defend the sovereignty,territorial integrity and the political autonomy of Afghanistan. That is the essence of the strategic partnership between Delhi and Kabul.