KABUL(SW):Analysts believe the National Security Advisor’s trip to India is of pivotal importance. Mohammad Hanif Atmar left for India on Sunday for a two-day official trip.
Members of the Wolesi Jirga (lower house) argue that the timing of this trip was crucial since a number of western countries have distanced themselves from Afghanistan. Abdul Wadood Paiman, a WJ member said that India and Russia were important neighbors in terms of cooperating for peace and stability.
He added that the Afghan government should seek Indian help for long-term strategic aspects. The National Security Advisor aims to attract India’s cooperation for the security and economic uplift.
He is likely to meet his Indian counterpart, defense minister, foreign minister and a number of other high ranking officials. Tawab Ghorzand, spokesman for the National Security Advisor told Salam Watandar that the government of Afghanistan has associated high hopes with this trip. About relative coldness in bilateral ties since the establishment of new government in Kabul, Ghorzang said ties would improve with this trip.
Latif Nazari, a security affairs’ analyst believe India too is interested in getting into long-term strategic ties with Afghanistan. He feared if Afghanistan failed to convince India with a clear strategy in this regard, New Delhi would get suspicious. He noted that the appeasement policy towards Pakistan in the beginning by the new government also left negative impacts on the ties with India.
He stressed that it was the right time to address the past mistakes. He affirmed that though India plays not a very significant role in the defense sector but it certainly is key partner in trade and skill development.
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