Impact on India Continues.....

India has always been wary of Pakistan’s influence in Afghanistan

and has seen its good relations with the Afghan government as

being critical for undermining Pakistan’s strategy of seeking

‘strategic depth’ against India. This strategy is viewed in New

Delhi as a Pakistani attempt to develop a base in Afghanistan from

where India could be targeted. The Taliban’s assumption of power

in 1995 and the civil war in Tajikistan were perceived in India with

apprehension as they were considered to be a part of Pakistan’s

‘strategic depth’ policy.

It is for this reason that India is wary of an

increase in Pakistan’s influence in Afghanistan as it could be at the

cost of India’s interests and security.

India has serious doubts about the declared ‘change of heart’

on Rawalpindi’s part regarding Afghanistan as it feels that such

claims are not backed by actions on the ground. India believes that

Pakistan has taken no action against the terror infrastructures, which remain intact on its soil, and present a grave threat to the region.

According to the wikileaks documents, India’s National

Security Advisor had told a US Senator that Pakistan had shown

itself to be unable or unwilling to wean itself off from terror as an

instrument of state policy. The Indian Prime Minister had also

told US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, William

Burns that there was a “duality of thought process” in Pakistan,

especially within the military as they continue to regard the Taliban

and the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT) as strategic assets. The terror

attacks on Indian targets in Afghanistan—its Embassy in Kabul in

2008 and 2009, and its consulate in Jalalabad in 2013—have done

much to reinforce the view that Rawalpindi is using proxies to

undermine India’s interests. From an Indian perspective, it is

extremely important to prevent Pakistan from becoming the sole

arbitrator of the Afghan political and strategic discourse, as it

would not only reinforce the proxy war against India, but also fuel

Islamic radicalism in the region.

To be continued...