In Afghan peace talks, India raises concerns on Pak support to Taliban

NEWDELHI: India’s concerns about Pakistan’s role in backing the Taliban figured in US special representative Zalmay Khalilzad’s discussions with his interlocutors i n New De l h i o n t h e Us-backed peace talks in Afghanistan, people familiar with developments said on Friday.

Islamabad’s push for talks with the Taliban against the backdrop of a planned US troop drawdown in Afghanistan has been causing anxiety in New Delhi, especially since Pakistan’s efforts appeared to be aimed at minimising India’s influence in the war-torn country. Simultaneously, Afghan leaders have been hinting they would prefer India to take on a larger role in shaping the peace process.

The people cited above said India’s concerns were raised during Khalilzad’s meetings with external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday and foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale on Friday. US, Indian and Afghan officials have accused Pakistan of providing safe haven to the Afghan Taliban leadership.

Asked during a weekly news briefing whether Pakistan’s role in the emerging peace process was raised in the meetings, external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar declined to go into details. However, he said, “This is something we have articulated time and again, about the destabilising role which Pakistan plays.” He said both sides “shared perspectives on peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan”. Khalilzad briefed Swaraj and Gokhale on how the US was trying to achieve peace. “From our perspective, we again made it very clear that peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan should be Afghan-owned, Afghan-led and Afghan-controlled,” he said.