UK floats Afghan forum idea,India wary

Ahead of the London donor conference on Afghanistan later this month,British Foreign Secretary David Miliband has proposed...

Ahead of the London donor conference on Afghanistan later this month,British Foreign Secretary David Miliband has proposed the setting up of an Afghanistan regional forum. The idea,floated by Miliband in a recent telephone conversation with Indian counterpart S M Krishna,has set South Block thinking.

It is learnt that Miliband told Krishna that Afghanistan was keen on having a regional forum comprising India,Iran,Pakistan and Russia in place before June 2011,the proposed timeframe for US and NATO troops to start reducing presence in that country. He is believed to have asked for Indias views in the run-up to the London meet.

India has not given any firm answer,with officials wondering if the proposal was being foisted upon Afghanistan. The idea has been discussed by policy-watchers for some time,but this is the first time that it has received some sort of official voice.

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For India,sources said,it is important to first ascertain the purpose of such a grouping. In case the forum is being conceptualized as an arrangement that would take over the responsibilities of the US-led coalition,India would find it difficult to support the move.

New Delhi has always maintained that international partners have to remain committed in Afghanistan for the long run,and any impression of reducing that commitment could have alarming consequences.

There is an Afghan version to the idea of having a regional forum,which is based on granting neutrality. This essentially means that the regional forum embraces the principle of non-interference in Afghanistans internal affairs and works on an understanding of being neutral.

Given that Afghanistan has suffered due to interventions from its neighbours,sources said,India could consider such an understanding as long as its wins Kabul the assurances that are vital for its governments success.

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These elements would have to be fleshed out in the days ahead. Several meetings on Afghanistan are lined up before the January 28 London conference the External Affairs Minister may attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting in Moscow; India could be invited to a meeting of regional players that Turkey is planning; and Af-Pak special envoys are scheduled to meet once.

There is a view that the UK is organizing the donor meeting in a hurry keeping in mind its domestic political compulsions. 2010 is election year in the UK,and the outcomes of the conference are likely to have ramifications there. However,the Afghan government is not yet fully formed,and certain sections of the Karzai Administration are not keen to rush into the donor conference,sources said.