Afghan President Hamid Karzai is to land in India on Wednesday evening for a two-day visit. The Indian external affairs ministry said on Tuesday, “President Karzai’s visit continues the tradition of regular high-level consultations between the two countries, and will contribute to strengthening the friendship and strategic partnership between India and Afghanistan.”
India is expected to convey its strong reservations over Pakistan’s attempts to influence the Taliban reintegration process when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meets Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday, who will also address the inaugural session of the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit, organized by The Energy Research Institute.
In his meeting with Karzai, Manmohan Singh is likely to reiterate India’s apprehensions about the Taliban reintegration process, specially Pakistan’s perceived attempt to influence the process to further its own strategic designs.
He is expected to underline the Indian position that only those Taliban who sever links with the terrorists and accept the Afghan constitution, as agreed at the Kabul and London conclaves last year, should be accommodated in a prospective power-sharing arrangement.
Against the backdrop of persistent threat perception to Indian missions and assets in Afghanistan, the prime minister will also press Karzai for review of security measures for around 4,000 Indians engaged in diverse projects in the violence-torn country.
“Any external interference in the reintegration process would be detrimental to its success and for the future of democratic, stable, pluralistic and prosperous Afghanistan,” External Affairs Minister SM Krishna said early January during his visit to Kabul.
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