BackHamid Karzai may raise US pact in India visit
The bilateral security pact allows 15,000 US troops to stay back in Afghanistan even after bulk of them w-ithdraw in 2014
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New Delhi: The Afghan-US bilateral security pact and its implications for the region are expected to figure prominently in talks between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the former’s visit to India in the second week of December.
Karzai is visiting India primarily at the invitation of the Pune-based Symbiosis University, Indian foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin told reporters on Thursday. “Whenever President Karzai comes to India as an honoured guest, he always does meet all important sections of Indian society including our leadership and so he will be received by the prime minister during his next visit to India in the second week of December," Akbaruddin.
Karzai’s visit comes just weeks after Afghanistan and the US agreed to a bilateral security pact that would allow some 15,000 US troops to stay back in the country even after the bulk of them withdraw in 2014. The pact had been agreed to last week but it has not yet been signed, with Karzai insisting that it be signed after 5 April, when Afghanistan is to go for elections.
Karzai has already said he is unlikely to contest the April elections but is seen to be driving a hard bargain to impress his domestic constituency.
US national security adviser Susan Rice told Karzai on Monday that a delay in signing a security deal risked the US pulling troops out of the country completely next year. “It would be fair to assume that this would be one of the subjects for discussion," said a person close to the development, who declined to be named. During his last visit to India in May, Karzai had sought arms and civilian support to fill the vacuum created by the withdrawal of US-led international troops.
Karzai’s visit would also present an opportunity for the Indian leadership to discuss connectivity with Afghanistan through Iran—specially the Chabahar port.
India and Iran had agreed to look at developing the port in southeastern Iran in 2003, during a visit to India by the then Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, but the venture has not made much progress.
Chabahar has been designated as a free trade and industrial zone by Tehran. Given India’s often hostile relations with Pakistan, India views the port as an alternative route not only to Afghanistan but also to the resource-rich landlocked countries of Central Asia. In May, India pledged $100 million for developing the port.
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