Karzai Visits New Delhi Ahead of SAARC Summit 2010

President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan visited New Delhi recently, on the eve of the SAARC Summit that started in Bhutan’s capital Thimphu on 28 April. During the two-day long visit, the Afghan president met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the talks being held at a crucial juncture, especially in context of the growing terrorist attacks on Indian people and projects in Afghanistan. President Karzai reassured Prime Minister Singh of Afghanistan’s measures towards safeguarding Indian presence in the country and urged India to remain committed to her efforts in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. In return, Prime Minister Singh assuaged all fears of India’s withdrawal, stating clearly that the perpetrators of terrorist activity against Indians in Afghanistan will not succeed in their goal of undermining India’s commitment towards the Afghan people.

A large contingent of Indians work in Afghan hospitals, schools, aid organisations and with development projects for building roads and dams and as technical workers in Afghan cities. Terror attacks have been targeting this population with the latest being a bomb blast in a Kabul guest house that killed six Indians staying there. The embassy has also been bombed multiple times and these events shook the morale of Indians living in Kabul. In such a grim scenario, the visit of the re-elected President was well received and will be reciprocated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who accepted the invitation extended to him by the Afghan President.

The two leaders also discussed growing instability in South Asia and the need to tackle regional terrorism. The joint statement issued after the talks in New Delhi also highlighted the need to keep the influence of other powers out of the bilateral relationship. The statement said, “The two leaders reiterated their conviction that the national rebuilding process in Afghanistan should be led by the local people in keeping with the principles of national sovereignty, independence and non-interference in internal affairs”. Clearly alluding to Pakistan’s covert activities against India’s growing influence in Afghanistan, the statement made it amply clear that neither would those activities hamper the bilateral relationship between India and Afghanistan, nor would they impact India’s role in the process of rebuilding Afghanistan. Indeed, at the talks, India affirmed its commitment to capacity building of institutions in Afghanistan. In particular, the leaders discussed the successes of the Zaranj-Delaram road project, the Pul-e-Kumri to Kabul transmission line project and educational scholarship programmes, all of which have proved immensely useful and popular amongst the Afghan people.

The Afghan President also made special mention of the upcoming loya jirga or people’s council that will see a meeting of local tribal leaders and the government in a bid to better understand the ways in which Afghanistan could move forward toward the reintegration and reconciling of those elements of the Taliban and others who have accepted the Afghan constitution, who are not part of al-Qaeda, who will not be part of any terrorist network. The peace jirga has been highly controversial, with allegations of it being a sell-out to the Taliban. Many have accused Karzai of short-wiring the processes of retributive justice, which have only just taken root in the country, with the help of UN-funded and run programmes. However, the President has been convincing the international community that the jirga will only reach out to ex-combatants, non-terrorists, people who might have been previously linked to a terrorist network, but have now returned to civilian life, having accepted government authority and the Afghan constitution. It remains to be seen how the peace jirga holds up and what its implications for Indians in Afghanistan will be. However, both leaders reiterated their commitment to fighting the scourge of terrorism in their joint statement.

Meanwhile, other commitments were made at this year’s South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit. During the two-day event, representatives from SAARC member states held  discussions on the issues of climate change barely four months after member states of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change met at the Copenhagen Conference in 2009. The 16th SAARC Summit was themed as ‘Towards a Green and Happy South Asia’. Bhutan, the nation that brought to fame the concept of Gross National Happiness as an economic tool of measuring the well-being of its people, is especially threatened by global warming because of its mountainous location. In fact, the Happiness Index itself is a development of the specialised branch of ecological economics.

But climate was not the only issue on agenda. There was momentum on trade issues with the signing of an agreement between SAARC member states to facilitate services like health, hospitality, communications and information technology. This year’s summit also saw the inauguration of the Permanent Secretariat of the SAARC Development Fund (SDF), established with an initial capital of $ 300 million to support the socio-economic development of the region.

Observer nations included the US, China, Japan, Korea, Iran, Australia, Myanmar, EU and Mauritius. This large and significant grouping also contributed to the discussions on terrorism. Whilst India, Pakistan and Afghanistan are dealing with the war efforts in the region, both Nepal and Sri Lanka are in the throes of a post-conflict situation that requires special attention. These concerns were discussed at the summit. At the start of the summit, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh rightly observed, "The winds of change are blowing across the world. South Asia cannot be immune to the trend of greater integration, both at the regional and global levels.” Hopefully, President Karzai’s visit to New Delhi and the SAARC summit will set the tone for such constructive regional initiatives.

Swapna Kona Nayudu is Associate Fellow, CLAWS

(Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the views either of the Editorial Committee or the Centre for Land Warfare Studies).