New Delhi, January 28: On the eve of the crucial London conference on the future of Afghanistan, New Delhi wants the proposed reconciliation process with the Taliban to be “transparent and inclusive” as any wrong move could have a destabilising effect on the security from the Ferghana Valley to the Bay of Bengal.
While the top Indian diplomats, led by External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and new NSA Shiv Shanker Menon, debated on the Indian response to the London initiative over the past weekend, the growing perception is that Washington is looking towards Britain and Pakistan to keep up with the announced 2011 exit of its troops from Kabul.
Indications that Britain is all set to play a lead role along with Pakistan is evident from the upgradation of Ambassador Mark Sedwill, a former MI-6 operative, to virtually the civilian counterpart to American General and ISAF Commander Stanley McChrystal and as part of the strategy to separate the Taliban from the al Qaeda terrorists.
Not only that, former British Commander in Iraq Lt General Graeme Lamb, known from his limited war doctrine, is also going to be the advisor to McChyrstal in the fight against Osama bin Laden’s men. A positive outcome in this direction would not only stabilise Afghanistan and its testy relationship with Pakistan but also boost PM Gordon Brown’s chances at the 2010 Parliamentary elections.
New Delhi is keenly watching the unveiling of the British Afghan plan on Thursday, which is designed for integration, reconciliation and finally power sharing with Taliban settled on both sides of the Durand Line. Given the Pakistani ISI hold over the Taliban, India is wary of any initiative that effectively disbands the Bonn Accord and undermines its own position. The three significant parts to the British Afghan Plan are:
Tactical: Integrating the rank and file of the Taliban within next six months and then going for reconciliation.
Operational: Integrating the Taliban regional field commanders and shadow governors within the civilian fold and perhaps accommodate some of them with the Afghan Cabinet within 12 months.
Strategic: Power sharing with the Quetta shura and full reconciliation within 18 months.
One of the significant proposals under consideration in the West is to hand over governorship of key Afghan provinces of Farah, Zabul, Uruzgan, Kandahar and Helmand — old Zabulistan and the Pashtun heartland of Mullah Omar’s kingdom — to the Taliban to buy peace, and let the remaining country be governed by the existing government or under an entirely new dispensation.
—-Agencies