WASHINGTON: Keen to jumpstart peace talks with the Taliban, the US Congress has avoided highlighting India’s role in Afghanistan in a bill that otherwise underlines Washington’s desire to build a strong military partnership with India.

The John S McCain National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) for the 2019 fiscal, which the US Senate passed by 87 to 10 votes on Thursday seeks to provide a legislative cover to Washington’s desire to build a strong relationship with India, which could counter China’s growing influence in Asia.

An earlier version of the bill highlighted the US desire of “furthering cooperative efforts” with India to “promote security and stability in Afghanistan.”

But the join conference report — adopted by the House and the Senate and sent to the White House for signature – does not underline this point.

There is a feeling in Washington that too much emphasis on India’s role in Afghanistan could annoy Pakistan and the Taliban, which could harm US efforts to start peace talks with the Taliban.

Late last month, senior US diplomats met Taliban representatives in Doha, Qatar, fulfilling a major demand of the militant group to hold direct talks with Washington.

Diplomatic sources in Washington say that India had advised Washington not to hold direct talks with the Taliban, and instead include the representatives of the US-backed government in Kabul as well.

But a former senior US diplomat, Ambassador Ryan Crocker, who has served in South Asia, told the NPR radio on Friday that representatives of the Afghan government did not attend the Doha talks because the Taliban wanted direct talks with the US.

The joint congressional bill, however, urged the Trump administration to “strengthen and enhance its major defence partnership with India, emphasising that such a partnership should enable “strategic, operational and tactical coordination between our militaries, and be jointly developed between the countries”.

It also said the US should work towards mutual security objectives by expanding engagement in multilateral frameworks, including the Quadrilateral Dialogue between the US, India, Japan, and Australia, to promote regional security and defend shared values and common interests in the rules-based order.

The bill asked the Trump administration to explore additional steps to implement the “Major Defence Partner” designation to better facilitate military interoperability, information sharing and appropriate technology transfers; and pursue strategic initiatives to help develop India’s defence capabilities.

The Senate version also asked the administration to designate a responsible individual within the Department of Defence to facilitate the major defence partnership with India.

It advised Washington to pursue strategic initiatives to help develop India’s defence capabilities and conducting additional joint exercises with India in the Persian Gulf, the Indian Ocean region, and the Western Pacific.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2018

Opinion

Editorial

Defining extremism
Updated 18 Mar, 2024

Defining extremism

Redefining extremism may well be the first step to clamping down on advocacy for Palestine.
Climate in focus
18 Mar, 2024

Climate in focus

IN a welcome order by the Supreme Court, the new government has been tasked with providing a report on actions taken...
Growing rabies concern
18 Mar, 2024

Growing rabies concern

DOG-BITE is an old problem in Pakistan. Amid a surfeit of public health challenges, rabies now seems poised to ...
Provincial share
Updated 17 Mar, 2024

Provincial share

PPP has aptly advised Centre to worry about improving its tax collection rather than eying provinces’ share of tax revenues.
X-communication
17 Mar, 2024

X-communication

IT has now been a month since Pakistani authorities decided that the country must be cut off from one of the...
Stateless humanity
17 Mar, 2024

Stateless humanity

THE endless hostility between India and Pakistan has reduced prisoners to mere statistics. Although the two ...