Russia brings together India and the Taliban at the negotiating table  

The development marks a major shift in India’s policy vis-a-vis the Taliban. The push for India’s involvement is believed to have come directly from Russian President Vladimir Putin

Photo courtesy: social media
Photo courtesy: social media
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Dhairya Maheshwari

Representatives from India and the Taliban will for the first time come face-to-face over the negotiating table at the Afghan Peace Talks to be hosted in Moscow on Friday.

Confirming India's participation in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar told reporters at the weekly press briefing on Thursday that India supported all efforts aimed towards "peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan" and which would "preserve unity and plurality, and bring security, stability, and prosperity to the country."

Kumar, however, added that India was participating at a "non-official" level, which means that New Delhi won't be represented by a sitting government functionary.

India's former High Commissioner to Pakistan, TCA Raghavan, and former envoy to Afghanistan, Amar Sinha, will represent at the negotiations, as per media reports.

India has been invested in the reconstruction of the war-torn country and has been the largest regional donor. As per the outline of the New Development Plan finalised in September 2017, India would take up hundreds of development projects to the tune of $1 billion to help rebuild the country.

"India's consistent policy has been that such efforts should be Afghan-led, Afghan-owned, and Afghan-controlled and with the participation of the Government of Afghanistan. Our participation at the meeting will be at the non-official level," said Kumar, as he announced a major foreign policy shift in India's stand vis-a-vis the Taliban.

The Russia-managed Afghan peace talks, or the "Moscow Forum,"  will also feature representatives from China, Pakistan, the US, Iran, Afghanistan and several other central Asian countries, as per Russian officials.

The push for India's involvement is believed to have come directly from the Kremlin. The reconstruction of Afghanistan had featured in discussions between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Russian leader's visit to India last month.

"Both the sides declared their support to Afghan government’s efforts towards the realization of an Afghan-led, and Afghan-owned national peace reconciliation process," the joint statement at the time had said.

As for the Taliban, the outfit stated on Thursday that its participation in the multination dialogue would "strengthen" its international status" even further.

Announcing a five-member delegation for the Moscow talks, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban) said in a statement, "This conference is not about holding negotiations with any party whatsoever; rather it is about finding a peaceful solution to the issue of Afghanistan… With participation in the meeting, the international status of the Islamic Emirate will be strengthened even further."

Originally opposed to the idea of holding talks with the Taliban, Afghanistan's government had pulled out of the scheduled negotiations on September 4. This time around, Afghanistan's government has announced a four-member team from its High Peace Council for the event.

Bringing the Taliban and Afghanistan on the table is seen as another major diplomatic win for Moscow, since the Islamist group had consistently refused to negotiate with the elected Afghan government, calling it an "American puppet."

Analysts have said that the roles of Pakistan and the US hold the key to peace in Afghanistan. Pakistan's foreign office has confirmed Islamabad's participation in the talks.

The US, which is leading a separate push from Russia for helping a speedy recovery of Afghanistan, will send staffers from its embassy in Russia.

India is already believed to be in indirect negotiations with the Taliban through tribal elders to secure the release of seven Indian workers allegedly abducted by the group in the northern province of Baghlan in May this year.

India has been invested in the reconstruction of the war-torn country and has been the largest regional donor. As per the outline of the New Development Plan finalised in September 2017, India would take up hundreds of development projects to the tune of $1 billion to help rebuild the country.

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