In an interview with The Wall Street Journal former president General Pervez Musharraf made several candid observations about India's role in Afghanistan. He said Kabul must block the Indian influence if it wishes to see peace. The remarks appear to be directed at the US, which until recently had advocated a greater role for India, rather than the Kabul government. In fact, Musharraf acknowledged that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's coming to power last September presents a new opportunity for Afghan reconciliation, and described President Ghani as a "balanced man ... a great hope."
A lot has changed since Musharraf had a running argument with the previous Afghan president Hamid Karzai who cozied up to New Delhi to spite Islamabad. The US and its allies' combat troops have gone home, leaving behind a small residual force to deal with al Qaeda remnants and other violent extremist groups threatening to attack Western targets. The Taliban continue to fight but are also willing to go back to the negotiation table, with Pakistan's facilitative assistance, in Qatar for talks with the US, and the Kabul government under China's auspices. Both President Ashraf Ghani and the Chief Executive of the National Unity government, Abdullah Abdullah, have praised the positive role Pakistan is playing in their efforts to end the conflict, and for encouraging the Taliban for a dialogue with Kabul. What remains unchanged is Pakistan's concern about its traditional rival, India - a neighbour that is gaining a permanent foothold close to its western borders and throwing up security challenges. The unsavoury truth, General Musharraf frankly admitted, is that the two countries had been embroiled in a proxy war on Afghan soil. He contended that the Taliban were a legitimate counterweight against India as the US and its allies had consistently failed to consider Pakistan's concerns, forcing Islamabad to rely on militant groups inside Afghanistan to protect its interests. In the past, the ill-advised idea to seek 'strategic depth' in Afghanistan too came from this country's India-centric security architecture. Hopefully, the idea has since undergone a rethink, and better sense now prevails.
Some in this country have been arguing that as the largest provider of humanitarian and development aid to Afghanistan, India has a legitimate role to play in that country. And that it is for Afghanistan to decide, as a sovereign state, what India may or may not do. There are at least two counter arguments: First, India is doing the good work not out of an altruistic motive but to promote its own interests. And second, Afghanistan as an occupied country does not enjoy full sovereignty. Things would be different after an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process reaches its logical conclusion. For now, all parties to the conflict want Pakistan to play the role of a facilitator. As a direct affectee of the war this country has a bigger stake than any other neighbour in seeing an Afghanistan, which is at peace with itself. Peace, however, will come when all outsiders step back and let the two warring sides come to a negotiated settlement of nearly 36 years of fighting, two major wars and an internecine conflict in between. The last thing that unfortunate country needs is yet another proxy war between Pakistan and India.
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