Taliban is part of very negative presence in Afghanistan: Rao

Betwa Sharma
New York, Mar 18 (PTI) Warning that the Taliban is
part of the "very negative presence" in Afghanistan, India has
asked the international community not to find quick solutions
to the extremist problem and be prepared for a long haul.
"There are certain forces that spread terror. The
Taliban is part of the very negative presence," Indian Foreign
Secretary Nirupama Rao, who is in the United States on a 6-day
visit, told PTI here.
Emphasising that India understood the Afghan society
due to its centuries-old civilisational ties, Rao said the
international community should prepare for the "long haul and
not try to find quick solutions to the problem."
Rao, who had extensive discussions with Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton and other senior officials of the Obama
Administration on Afghanistan, also spoke against a
distinction being made between a "good Taliban and bad
Taliban".
Her comments came against the backdrop of the US and
the Hamid Karzai government in Afghanistan planning to engage
with moderate elements of the Taliban to induct them into
country's polity.
"India and the international community have to stay
involved in Afghanistan in order to deal with this problem
that has been created by these extremist groups in this
country.
"It is very important to deal with these problems in a
way that Afghanistan becomes a stable and prosperous
democracy. It this that is the core of what we are saying and
what we convey to our friends like the United States," Rao
said.
Washington acknowledges India's influence in
Afghanistan and appreciates the large-scale developmental work
being carried out in that country.
"The United States fully recognises that India has
legitimate interests in Afghanistan. It appreciates the
development work we do there... It appreciates that we are
force of stability and moderation in our region. We are not
scaling down in Afghanistan," she said.
India has made it clear that it will not be scaling
down its operations in Afghanistan notwithstanding a spate of
recent attacks targeting its citizens, including the one on
two guest houses in central Kabul in which seven Indians were
killed.
During the talks with her counterpart Bill Burns,
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Rao stressed
that Afghanistan presented the foremost security-related
challenge in the region.
She also reiterated India's long held position that it
was important for the international community to stay the
present course in Afghanistan for as long as it is necessary.
"The US interlocutors conveyed their appreciation of
the important developmental work being done by India in
Afghanistan," a statement from the Indian Embassy said. PTI