Indian army chief pitches for talks with Taliban

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - The Indian army chief said Thursday that New Delhi should have a role in talks with the Taliban for peace in Afghanistan, local media reported.

Broadcaster NDTV quoted Gen. Bipin Rawat as saying in a news conference that "India cannot be left out of the bandwagon" as a number of countries, including Russia, Pakistan and the U.S. engage in talks with the Taliban for peace in war-ravaged Afghanistan.

"Do we have an interest in Afghanistan? If, yes, then we can't be out of the bandwagon... Should we in some way be a part of the talks? We should not be left out," said the army chief.

The statement comes as U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad begins a two-day visit to India.

India had participated in the Moscow talks on Afghanistan in 2018, in which the Taliban also took part. India participated at a “non-official level”, where it was represented by two former diplomats.

To a question on using a similar approach in Jammu and Kashmir, he said: “There can be no third party intervention in Kashmir.”

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir.

Also, in Siachen glacier in northern Kashmir, Indian and Pakistani troops have fought intermittently since 1984. A cease-fire came into effect in 2003.

Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.

According to several human rights organizations, thousands of people have reportedly been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989.