Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla travels to Kabul ahead of US-Taliban deal

India has reached out to President M Ashraf Ghani's Government in Afghanistan just a day before United States is set to ink a deal with Taliban in order to set the stage for withdrawal of foreign soldiers from the conflict-ravaged country.

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla travelled to Kabul and called on acting Afghan Foreign Minister Haroon Chakhansur on Friday. He also had a meeting with Ghani's National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib.

This was Shringla's first visit to Kabul after his appointment as Foreign Secretary on January 29. “Foreign Secretary conveyed to (acting Afghan Foreign Minister) India’s support for the people of Afghanistan in their pursuit for sustainable peace, security and development,” Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said in New Delhi.

The US is set to sign a peace-deal with Afghan-Taliban in Doha on Saturday. The deal is likely to set the stage for release of a large number of Taliban leaders and militants held in the jails in Afghanistan as well as for withdrawal of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) from the war-torn country almost two decades after a US-led offensive dislodged the Islamist militants from the seat of power in Kabul.

What India is worried about is the prospect of the peace-deal resulting in a strategic advantage for Pakistan in Afghanistan.

“Foreign Secretary highly praised the dedication & (and) professionalism of the ANDSF (Afghan National Defence and Security Force) in safeguarding Afghanistan’s territorial integrity & (and) national sovereignty under very challenging circumstances,” MEA spokesperson posted on Twitter, after Foreign Secretary met Afghan President's National Security Advisor in Kabul on Friday. “NSA Mohib thanked Foreign Secretary for India’s training and medical facilities for the ANDSF. Foreign Secretary reiterated India’s commitment to stand with Afghanistan as it pursues sustainable peace and reconciliation.”

P Kumaran, New Delhi's envoy to Doha, will represent the Government of India in the signing ceremony in the capital of Qatar on Saturday.

This is the first time when New Delhi is sending a serving diplomat to attend an event, where the leaders and emissaries of Afghan Taliban will also be present.

New Delhi had no official contact with the Taliban ever since the Islamist militia took over Afghanistan in 1996. When an Indian Airlines plane was hijacked and taken to Kandahar in Afghanistan 1999, New Delhi, however, had engagements with Taliban Government in Kabul to arrange negotiation with the hijackers, release of terror leader Masood Azhar and repatriation of the aircraft along with the passengers.

India had sent two retired diplomats to attend a conference hosted by Russian Government in Moscow in 2018. A delegation of Afghan Taliban too had attended the conference in the capita of Russia. New Delhi's decision to send a serving diplomat to the US-Taliban deal signing ceremony in Doha on Saturday indicates a subtle change in New Delhi's approach – apparently prompted by the need to wake up to the emerging reality of Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan.