AFGHANISTAN: WHAT IT MEANS TO INDIA

Musharraf ,when he was President  & Army Chief of Pakistan, had said, Quote" TALIBAN ARE MY STRATEGIC RESERVE & I CAN UNLEASH THEM IN TENS OF THOUSANDS AGAINST INDIA WHEN I WANT....",Unquote.The recently retired Pakistan Army Chief Kayani was the ISI Chief then. Afghanistan's  political class & Army knows it too well that the Taliban are completely under Pakistan's control.  As a matter of fact, relationship & policies towards India ,Afghanistan,

China & CAR countries are the exclusive preserves of Pakistan Army. Not only they articulate, fabricate , structure & implement  these policies for these countries, they also unleash matching strategic , tactical  & psychological offensives from time to time. Pakistan is a failed state, surviving  on two ventilator tubes pushed in it's mouth by U.S. & China respectively; the latter two shall ensure that this condition continues to remain, so  that  they   can maintain  their respective national interests by keeping the pot boiling in this part of South Asia. Under this scenario,in so far as , relations between India ,Pakistan & China are concerned, these shall continue to remain in a state of flux.

In view of the aforesaid , & South Asia having now become the Centre of Gravity,the destiny & stability of Afghanistan is now directly linked with the  happenings in Pakistan.As Miyan Saheb struggles hard to gain an upper hand over Pakistan Army, it is a known fact that both - Pakistan Army & Pak ISI  have always dominated & overshadowed Pakistani peoples' will. Under these circumstances, Pakistan shall continue to influence Afghanistan & create more instability in the region after U.S. & NATO Forces depart by 2014 ( !).

Simultaneously,the geo-strategic & geo-political importance of Gilgit- Baltistan Region is fast becoming far more important.This 'Taliban Crescent' - that has special connections with Kashmiri terrorists is also being eyed upon by China as an entry point to Afghanistan & the CAR countries. As it is,the all weather friend of China has permitted Chinese  troops to be positioned in this area.These  are mostly engineers who are making roads & improving communication & allied  infrastructure.It should not be forgotten that China in 2003 had used Karakorum Highway to export military hardware to the Taliban Government. This worries U.S. to no end.

The Taliban are the same terrorizers of the common Afghani populace that had destroyed their culture ,way of life, their customs & traditions  & heritage sights. Bamiyan Budha is one such glaring case in point.

From the Indian point of view,what shall happen after the US & NATO Forces vacate Afghanistan, is of critical & vital importance.However,one thing is for sure.US shall have to leave at least about one division worth of Composite Task Force with all integrated command,support  & communications nerve centres intact.US,hopefully, has learnt hard lessons, from their past experiences in Korea,Vietnam,Somalia, Iraq, Middle East ,& elsewhere; most importantly from  it's earlier involvement in Afghanistan.Their track record in handling anti /counter terrorist activities & low intensity operations has been poor.They,therefore, can not  afford to take a risk of leaving  a black hole/create a total vacuum after their departure.US also won't want to let China gain an  easy access to Afghanistan either !

India has given more than $2 Billion aid to Afghanistan.The stakes for India from all angles are high.All Indian aid to Afghanistan is for  creation & improvement of all kinds of infrastructure involving different dimensions in support of nation building.India is also keen that nearly 3,35,000 strong Afghani National Army & Police remain as a cohesive force to fight against terror, irrespective of political complexion of the people who assume power after Karzai.

With the 4 Generation Warfare around, that is faceless & beyond national boundaries,Afghanistan can be an ideal playground of terrorists of all kinds & ideologies.This can create havoc, if concerted efforts by the world body  are not put in place now to help in rapid economic development of this hapless & land locked country.There is nothing known as a good Taliban or a bad Taliban. The outreaching by the coalition partners in starting negotiations with Taliban are blurring the NATO's anxiety to withdraw by 2014 - irrespective of the ground situation.This is of immense alarm & anxiety to India.This end game is being played with Taliban Groups in Pakistan that have all the time to themselves.

India has established a strategic relationship with Afghanistan. This encompasses  a vision encompassing a long term perspective.For India,`Afghanistan has tremendous geo-strategic & geo-political importance.Further,India has centuries old relationship with Afghanistan.US too has inked a Strategic Partnership Agreement with Afghanistan but the Bilateral Security Agreement is yet to get finalized. Far too many irritants & suspicions have come in between as hurdles.Hopefully, a reasonable solution to these shall be found soon.With Arab world in turmoil, & Pakistan itself in a very bad shape,one does not really know as to what is in the offing for this region !Be that as it may,India has faced the worst when Taliban took over Afghanistan in mid 90s.

Pakistan has illegally occupied vast stretches of  J & K ,& this is the reason as to why India does not share an approximate of 110 Kilometres of land border with Afghanistan.

Afghani people have suffered a lot in the last 35 years or so.As the world's largest democracy,India must go all out to help them.Towards this end,India must join hands with US, & together they must democratize, modernize & stabilize the torn nation state.This is the call of time.The entire world must support & help Afghanistan.