POLITICS: Cold-War Allies Pursue Role in Afghan Settlement

By Ranjit Devraj Reprint | | Print |

Ranjit Devraj

NEW DELHI, Nov 8 2001 (IPS) - The Moscow Declaration on terrorism signed by Russian President Vladmir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee this week is a clear statement that the cold war allies will press for a role in a post-Taliban settlement in Afghanistan.

Stopping short of directly confronting the United States and its policies, the Moscow Declaration “reaffirmed the role of the United Nations in the struggle against terrorism”.

Long before the Sep. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, New Delhi and Moscow have been trying with small success, to draw world attention to the growth of the Taliban with the active support of Pakistan.

And now through the Moscow Declaration and a separate Indo- Russian statement on “strategic issues”, the two countries are seeking to ensure that elements of the purist Taliban, labelled “moderate” by Pakistan do not find a place in a post-war dispensation in Kabul.

“Moderate Taliban is an oxymoron,” declared India’s outspoken foreign minister Jaswant Singh at press briefing in New Delhi, indicating this country’s opposition to the idea promoted by Pakistan’s military ruler Pervez Musharraf.

After the documents were signed in Moscow on Tuesday, Putin complained about international “double standards” when it came to defining who a terrorist was and said he would urge the U.S. to include Pakistan- backed terrorists in Kashmir and Chechen rebels in Russia in its list.

Well before the attacks in New York and Washington, Russian submitted to the U.N. documents complaining of Islamabad’s open violation of U.N. Security Council sanctions imposed on the Taliban government designed to isolate it.

According to the Russian report, made available here by Indian officials, Pakistan had based an entire army regiment in Kabul as well as elements from several Pakistan-based jehadist groups active in Kashmir such as the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.

The Russians were not the only ones complaining of Pakistani violations of the U.N. sanctions against the Taliban.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), in a report released in July, detailed Pakistan’s support for the Taliban including bankrolling of its operations, diplomatic support, planning and directing offensives and even providing combat support in the continuing civil war.

“Pakistan’s army and intelligence services, principally the Inter Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI) contribute to making the Taliban a highly effective military force,” HRW said in its report.

Still, leading Indian analysts and politicians, including defence minister George Fernandes, have been critical of the seriousness of the United States bombing campaign in Afghanistan which seems designed to ensure that the Taliban survived to figure in a future government, as Musharraf would like to see.

They are also piqued at Washington’s reluctance to ban the Pakistan-based militant groups most active in Kashmir, the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammed as recommended by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.

At a briefing on Tuesday in Washington, ahead of Vajpayee’s visit later this week, Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca clarified that the two organisations had indeed not been declared as terrorist outfits as announced by Indian officials but that a decision was yet pending.

And this despite the fact that the Lashkar-e-Toiba had claimed responsibility (and later also withdrawn it) for a suicide attack on the Kashmir legislative assembly building in Srinagar on Oct 1 leaving 40 persons dead.

When U.S. Defence Secretary Donal Rumsfeld visited India on Monday he scrupulously avoided mention of Kashmir and was prepared only to talk of terrorism “in a broader sense” and make a vague promise to “pursue terrorist networks wherever we (the U.S.) find them.

Commented an editorial Wednesday in the mass-circulation Hindustan Times newspaper published from the capital: “Having put all its efforts in Gen. Musharraf’s basket, the U.S. has no option but to keep mum on Kashmir, a state with which the general has been obsessed ever since Kargil.”

The only satisfaction that India has had since the bombing began has been Musharraf’s move, under apparent pressure from Washington, to sack the chief of the ISI and order the arrest of nuclear scientists known to be sympathetic to the Taliban.

But Rumsfeld also disppointed those who were speculating on the possibility of action to stop the possibility of Pakistan’s nuclear assets falling into the hands of jehadist elements by certifying that they were under responsible management.

Any hope of India convincing the U.S. not to lean too hard on Pakistan’s support in the war against the Taliban now rests on Vajpayee who is scheduled to meet President George Bush in Washington on Friday.

“India may still derive greater solace from its interaction with its old friend Russia than with the new ally the U.S. The comfort zone with Russia will be greater even though it is only a shadow of its former superpower self,” the Hindustan editorial commented.