NEw Delhi: Any improvement of ties between New Delhi and Islamabad will automatically improve the situation in Afghanistan, US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Ambassador James Dobbins said on Thursday.
Dobbins, who arrived here to brief Indian officials on the proposed talks with Taliban as part of stabilising war- torn Afghanistan, also said that there is no prospect of any agreement with Taliban unless they decide on severing ties with all terror groups, including al-Qaeda.
“We certainly agree that there is no prospect of improvement in relationship with Taliban or any agreement with Taliban unless they assure terrorism is…addressed,” the US diplomat said, adding that Taliban has to do much more before an agreement is reached.
“In an agreement, they need to improve on cessation of hostilities, respectfully attend the Constitution and go about severing of all ties with al-Qaeda and similar terrorist organisations,” Dobbins said.
“Any improvement in Indo-Pak ties will almost automatically improve the Afghanistan situation,” he said. Dobbins added that he had gathered an impression during his two meetings with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that “improvement in relationship with India is very high on his (Sharif’s) list of priority.” The US ambassador, who met Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai yesterday, will meet his Indian counterpart S K Lambah today. The visit comes a day after US Secretary of State John Kerry’s three-day official visit for the India-US Strategic Dialogue.
During the dialogue, Kerry had assured India that its concerns over Taliban insurgents gaining legitimacy without severing their terror links will not be “overlooked or undermined” during the talks with the Islamic fundamentalist group.
Maintaining that India has an important influence in Afghanistan, Dobbins said, “it is important that India understand our views and we understand India’s views.” The US Ambassador had met Sharif yesterday and discussed developments in Afghanistan, including the proposed peace talks to be held in Qatar.
He said said that there is certainly “no pre-condition” for the peace talks and the US does not expect that Taliban will stop hostilities just because they are talking. “Certainly there is no pre-condition. We do not expect them to stop firing just because they are talking.
The objective of the talks is the diminishing of violence and ultimately an enduring peace. But that is not going to come quickly. So there is certainly no pre-condition for just talking. “Frankly, I anticipate that Taliban would continue to try and negotiate from a position of strength. They will continue to mount attacks. Probably Taliban wants the pressure to continue. (PTI)
