India for `Afghan-led, Afghan-owned` peace process

Anil K Joseph
Kabul, Jul 20 (PTI) As world leaders backed handing over
Afghanistan's security responsibility to its government by
2014, India Tuesday said that any new process to stabilise the
war-torn nation must be fully "Afghan-led and Afghan-owned"
and sought an end to sustenance and sanctuaries for terrorists
from outside.
The international community should ensure that there is
no selectivity in dealing with terrorism, India's External
Affairs Minister S M Krishna said in a statement at the
international conference on Afghanistan, where he supported
the peace process which, he added, should be "inclusive and
transparent."
"Terrorism cannot be compartmentalised. Today, one cannot
distinguish between al-Qaeda and plethora of terrorist
organisations which have imbibed the goals and techniques of
al-Qaeda.
"It is therefore, essential to ensure that support,
sustenance and sanctuaries for terrorist organisations from
outside Afghanistan are ended forthwith," he told the
delegates, including his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood
Qureshi who was among the 30-odd Foreign Ministers present at
the meet.
He said any new process to stabilise the war-torn country
must be "fully Afghan-led and Afghan-owned and carry all
sections of the nation's population."
Describing India and Afghanistan as "historic friends,"
Krishna, speaking to a galaxy of world leaders including US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, said New Delhi has
contributed to this country's efforts in nation-building and
reconstruction "entirely in accordance with the priorities of
the Afghan government and people."
"The international community must learn lessons from past
experiences at negotiating with fundamentalist and extremist
organisations and ensure that any peace process is conducted
in an inclusive and transparent manner," Krishna said in a
statement at the International Conference on Afghanistan here.
"India also supports Afghanistan's efforts towards peace
and reintegration. But for such effort to succeed, it must be
fully Afghan-led and Afghan-owned and carry all sections of
Afghanistan's population together as well as abide by the
redlines agreed to at the London Conference," he said.
The London Conference on Afghanistan, he noted, had
emphasised on giving up violence, cutting off all links with
terrorism – whether 'jehadi' or state-sponsored – and
accepting the democratic and pluralistic values of the Afghan
Constitution, including women's rights. (More) PTI