The Indian Footprints in Afghanistan

Abstract

The US forces in Afghanistan were scheduled to leave the Afghan soil in 2014. However it raised suspicions in the minds of the US troops and the top hierarchy about the capacity and the ability of Afghan troops to ensure the law and order and to hinder the possible reassembling of Taliban and the other militant groups on the Afghan land. At the time of US withdrawal, many regional actors were envisaging their role in Afghanistan, primarily because of its geostrategic location. Among the regional actors which were anticipating an active role in Afghanistan, India was the prominent one for assuming a proactive role in Afghanistan. The reason for this dominant role was very vivid, India wanted to exploit the natural resources of Central Asian Republics (CARs) and untapped resources in Afghanistan. The experiment of establishing footprints in Afghanistan was a blind move as it was not certain about the repercussions it could face in case of reassembling of Taliban factor. If there is instability and anarchy in Afghanistan its resonance would be felt in India. The policy makers of India would have calculated the risk factor and most importantly they did not want to leave Afghanistan at the mercy of Pakistan. This paper will unfold the India’s economic as well as political role in Afghanistan that will debilitate Pakistan’s internal security and its efforts to strengthen Indo-Afghan relations in the post US withdrawal scenario.