Speaking at an event on the Afghan peace process on Thursday at the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS), Ambassador Vinay Kumar said that New Delhi has had serious talks with Washington about peace in Afghanistan, and he thinks Afghans should have full ownership of the peace process.
The Indian ambassador to Afghanistan stressed that the goal of peace efforts in Afghanistan should be to completely cut off terrorism in the region, and the Afghan process should be inclusive.
He also said that sustainable peace in Afghanistan provides further opportunities for strengthening cooperation between India and Afghanistan.
Regarding the ongoing peace efforts by US Government, Ambassador Kumar said that India has talked with the US regarding peace in Afghanistan, and that India supports the US efforts.
“We have partnered with the United States, and we are engaged with the United States in serious dialogue (with) discussions on the peace-related issues and we fully support the peace involving Ambassador Khalilzad,” Kumar said, referring to Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, the US peace envoy involved with the Afghan peace negotiations.
“We think that a sustainable peace in Afghanistan in the first place requires…the dismantling of infrastructure that supports violence and terrorism,” Kumar said.
Kumar says so far India has trained 6,000 Afghan officers and contributed 350 projects throughout Afghanistan.
When Kumar was asked whether the return of a Taliban Emirate to Afghanistan would be tolerated by India, Kumar said that “independence and territorial sovereignty mean that people choose the kind of government they want.
Kumar also said that India has committed 3 billion dollars to Afghanistan development, from which 2 billion dollars has already been spent.
Sima Samar, the Afghanistan’s Human Rights Minister, another participant of the event also believes that the agreement of the regional countries on the Afghan peace process is a key issue in this regard.
“I think the role of all of Afghanistan's neighbors in peace talks is important because the conflict in Afghanistan is not just about the Afghan people but, unfortunately, almost all the countries in the region are involved in the conflict in Afghanistan and the transnational countries are also involved, so if the countries in the region do not agree on the issue of peace in Afghanistan, we will still be challenged," said Samar.