'India Is Required For All Solutions In Afghanistan'
PM's special envoy for Afghanistan on the role of India in crisis-ridden Afghanistan and America's unfolding Af-Pak policy
Satinder K. Lambah is the Indian prime minister's special envoy for Afghanistan. For long counted among the most powerful people in Delhi, Lambah has been participating in meetings worldwide to hammer out a policy aimed at stabilising Afghanistan and vanquishing the Taliban. Pranay Sharma met the dapper diplomat at his residence, where they discussed the role of India in crisis-ridden Afghanistan and America's unfolding Af-Pak policy. Excerpts:
What is India's reaction to the Afghanistan-Pakistan policy of the US?
Does India enjoy all the love and affection in Afghanistan as it had in the past?
But do they continue to see India as a friendly country?
And that includes the Pashtuns?
India has set up several major projects in Afghanistan in the past few years. The Delaram-Zaranj highway, the Indira Gandhi Child Welfare Hospital....
What about other sectors?
But the Delaram-Zaranj highway is decidedly India's major achievement?
But Pakistan has complained a number of times about the intensified Indian activity in Afghanistan?
What are the key factors that can lead to stability in Afghanistan?
But what about the outside interference in Afghanistan that has helped in the rise of Taliban in different parts of the country?
And they have been getting support from inside Pakistan?
The US and other western countries feel there is a link between the economic instability in Pakistan and the rise of Taliban and other insurgent activities. Do you agree?
But it seems like a blackmail tactic. It's as if Pakistan is saying, unless you pay me, you cannot ensure my support in the war against terror.
What's your response to new attempts to wean away the 'moderate Taliban'?
But talks are on to get the moderates among the Taliban on board?
How does India see its role in the US's Af-Pak policy?
But how will India be seen if it becomes part of the US policy in Afghanistan?
But then what does the US mean when it says India's role is important for the success of its Af-Pak policy?
General David Petraeus recently told a US House committee that India is part of Richard Holbrooke's portfolio though it only mentions Afghanistan and Pakistan. How do you see this attempted linkage?
Pakistan has been arguing that unless its tension with India is reduced, it cannot fully concentrate in tackling the terrorist activities along its border with Afghanistan. Are there many takers in the west for such arguments?
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