India calls for cooperation among regional countries to deal with the Afghan challenges
From a small player, India becomes a mainstream one on Afghanistan affairs by hosting a meeting of Russia, Iran and CIS countries on the question of humanitarian aid and return of peace to that country. The Central Asian countries that attended the meeting included Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. It was a meeting of National Security Advisors, but it is a mainstream initiative nevertheless in taking forward the resolution of the UN and other bodies about stability in Afghanistan since the Taliban forced themselves to power in August. The Delhi Declaration reiterated that Afghan territory should not be used for terrorist acts, sought an inclusive Government with representation from the “major ethno-political forces”, unimpeded humanitarian assistance and cooperation against radicalisation, extremism and drug trafficking. The Declaration underscored the importance of peace in the country as it has important security implications for the people of Afghanistan as well as their neighbours. The regional security dialogue is the third after Iran hosted the first two in 2018 and 2019. Through the Declaration, India called for closer consultations, greater cooperation and coordination among the regional countries to deal with the challenges Afghanistan poses.
That is the key takeaway from New Delhi: cooperation and coordination between regional countries. India hit the nail on the head by raising the issue. It is the lack of cooperation that has wasted all well-meaning measures of the neighbours to date. The regional powers have so far only been busy talking about themselves. Iran hosted a meeting of neighbours of Afghanistan but did not invite India. Russia, too, did not invite India to the extended Troika meeting involving China, Pakistan and the US in August. The snub was explained as the result of the divergence of views of Russia and India over Afghanistan with India against establishing any Government in Kabul by force and Russia insisting that the Taliban can counter the Islamic State better. India subsequently made it to the Moscow Format meeting hosted by Russia. Then came the New Delhi-sponsored event. It is to be followed by Pakistan, which declined India’s invite to attend the NSA meeting, hosting yet another extended Troika meeting. China, which skipped the New Delhi meet, is attending. The outcome of all these meetings, there may be more to come in the future, is nearly the same. However, there is no evidence of any change in the attitude of the Taliban. They have not responded to any of the declarations about their Government. They have not made any commitment to severing ties with terror groups based in Afghanistan. The only issue they have responded to is about receiving humanitarian aid. New Delhi’s emphasis on regional cooperation is a caution to countries that are putting themselves before others.