Singh offers support to Karzai

An estimated 1,400 Afghans representing Afghanistan’s myriad of ethnic, regional and political factions are scheduled to gather for a so-called “peace jirga” next month to reach a national consensus for talking with the Taleban insurgents.
Although India has deep reservations about what have come to be known as the differentiation between “good Taleban” and “bad Taleban,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured Karzai about India’s support.
“I conveyed to President Karzai our deep admiration for his courageous leadership in difficult times and our support to the government and people of Afghanistan,” Singh said, reading a prepared statement to reporters following the meeting.
Karzai held talks with Indian leaders on Monday about his efforts to reach out to the Taleban for a negotiated settlement.
New Delhi fears any Afghan plan to broker a deal with the Taleban will undermine its security and give rival Pakistan greater influence there. Pakistan, one of a handful of countries that recognized the Taleban regime before the US invasion in 2001, is seen as a key player in any plan for reconciliation.
“We discussed ... reintegration and reconciling of those elements of the Taleban and others who have accepted Afghan Constitution, who are not part of Al-Qaeda, who are not part of any terrorist network,” Karzai said after talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Karzai has proposed a plan to reintegrate low-level fighters back into Afghan society and also sought to reconcile with senior insurgents provided they give up weapons.
An immediate breakthrough is unlikely, analysts say, pointing to previous offers to re-integrate fighters that failed to make much progress. The Taleban have also rejected any offer of talks saying foreign forces must first leave Afghanistan.
“The prime minister and I discussed the situation in Afghanistan, the situation in the region and our common struggle against terrorism and extremism,” Karzai said reading from a statement.
Karzai will be traveling to Bhutan on Tuesday to attend a regional summit, Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna said on Monday. “I am not ruling it out,” the state-run Doordarshan channel quoted him as saying in Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, of a possible meeting between the leaders of India and Pakistan.
The rivalry between India and Pakistan has extended to Afghanistan where the two are battling for influence.
New Delhi saw a militant attack on a Kabul guesthouse that killed six Indians in February as a signal of efforts to reduce New Delhi’s influence in Afghanistan. It was the third major attack against Indian interests in two years.
“I conveyed to President Karzai that the perpetrators of such attacks will not succeed in undermining India’s commitment to assist the Afghan people,” Singh said in his statement.
Pakistan denies any involvement and in turn accuses India of using Afghan territory to destabilize its troubled Balochistan region.
New Delhi has several developmental projects in Afghanistan, including construction of power lines and highways worth $1.3 billion.