KABUL - An Indian expert of the world affairs believes that development of the Iranian port of Chabahar is highly important for Iran, India and Afghanistan and it will remain as a valuable joint venture among the nations.
In an exclusive interview with IRNA here on the occasion of the two-day visit of the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to New Delhi, a senior advisor at one of India’s premier think tanks “Observer Research Foundation (ORF) Sajeev Ahluwalia said: “The Chabahar port is an illustration of the common interests between Iran, Afghanistan and India. Today it can also be viewed as a counter to brinkmanship which Pakistan uses liberally because of its location as the gate way to Afghanistan for India. But, even if these issues get resolved, Chabahar will have value as a joint venture between the three countries which have resolved to make it the premier link for Afghanistan to the sea. Once the Port is ready and the link road to Afghanistan is operational traffic of all types will grow.”
Rejecting any possibility of India using the Chabahar Port to send troops to Afghanistan if the situation requires, the seasoned analyst of the world affairs said: “It is difficult to conjecture that India will consider sending troops to Afghanistan to assist the Afghan army. This is not a traditional role that the Indian Army has played. India knows that any permanent resolution of the crisis in Kabul can only come about through an internal agreement to end the fighting and violence and turn to development.”
“Of course, this is not in the interest of the Army-Industrial complex in Pakistan. Suitable measures need to be taken by the international community led by the US to neutralise the power of the Army in Pakistan. It is possible that even China will not object to bringing the Pak Army to a point where it is disciplined by the civilian authorities in Pakistan. After all, China is as affected by the curse of Islamic terror bred in Pakistan as is Afghanistan,” he added
Advocating an only-Afghan peace process in Afghanistan, Sanjeev Ahluwalia said: “Iran, US, China and India all have self interest in supporting a peace process in Afghanistan. I agree, of course, that the peace can only be negotiated internally by the Afghans themselves. But it is important that India is assured that the 'deep State' of Pakistan does not find a haven in Kabul. Similarly, both the US and China have an interest to ensure that neither gets a foothold to destabilise the peace.”
“For Iran, since Afghanistan is a neighbour, it is important that it is included in the process so that it contributes and owns the process of bringing peace to Afghanistan. The only joker in the pack is China which is currently in an expansionary phase of power and needs to be seen as the biggest regional power. China has vast resources and determination,” Sanjeev Ahluwalia added.
“But India will never allow it to destabilize South Asia by replacing the US as the main backer of the Pak Army and related security Agencies. India has very friendly relations with Soviet Russia just as Iran does. So there is a real prospect that a group of Afghanistan’s friends can nudge China to curb its imperialistic ambitions.” (IRNA)