India concerned about situation in Afghanistan: Pentagon
India is concerned about the current situation in Afghanistan, a top Pentagon official has told US lawmakers in Washington.
“As I’m sure you know, they (Indians) are concerned about the situation in Afghanistan. They are concerned about the intersection between instability there and their counter-terrorism concerns,” said Colin H. Kahl, Under Secretary of Defense Told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee during a hearing on Security for Policy, Afghanistan, South and Central Asia.
“They (Indians) want to work with us on issues, sharing intelligence, collaborating where we can,” he said, adding that there is a tremendous convergence between US and Indian national interests right now.
“This provides us with great opportunities to cooperate with India, not only on Afghanistan and terrorism, but on broader regional security questions, in the Indian Ocean and as it pertains to the wider Indo-Pacific,” Kahl said.
He was responding to a question from Senator Gary Peters.
“India’s policies towards Afghanistan have been conceived largely through the lens of competition and proxy conflict with Pakistan. It stands to reason, therefore, that New Delhi should be no less concerned about the possibility that a Taliban government will may benefit anti-India terrorist groups, especially those oriented towards Kashmir,” he said.
“Given our commitment to joint cooperation and interoperability with this important partner, and the fact that India is the only designated major defense partner of the United States, I believe it is important for us to understand that the That’s how his approach is and will evolve,” Peters said.
Earlier this month, Kahl co-chaired the US-India Defense Policy Group meeting.
Responding to another question from Senator Jack Reed, Kahal said Pakistan is a challenging actor, but it does not want Afghanistan to be a safe haven for terrorist attacks or external attacks.
“They continue to give us access to Pakistani airspace and we are in talks about keeping that airspace open and are happy to talk more about that in closed session,” he said. For, counter-terrorism cooperation with Pakistan is very good.”
“Our inability in multiple administrations to deal effectively with Pakistan is another example of a prelude to the past.
Management of the security relationship with Pakistan will remain important as we seek to successfully implement the regional counter-terrorism strategy with other partners and allies.”
“That’s why it’s so important for us to reflect on and study the entirety of our 20-year mission in Afghanistan,” he said.
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