[Tolo News] Pak Defense Secretary Lt General Asif Yasin recently announced to the U.S. government that his country would not accept a robust role for India in in Afghanistan.The comments came on Thursday during a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Senate on Defense in Islamabad. Yasin warned in clear terms that Pakistain would have strong reservations if the NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization....
coalition had designs for India in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of foreign forces in December.
Relations between Afghanistan and India have been warming for over a decade now, first seeing a breakthrough after the fall of the Taliban regime, which once aligned itself with Pakistain. Tensions between longtime rivals in the region Pakistain and India have bubbled beneath the surface in Afghanistan as NATO's war has captured most of the attention.
Russia and India have just recently announced that they plan to jointly assess the equipment needs of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) ahead of any future aid they are likely to provide.
A number of Afghan security experts have argued that India's role is critical to the fight against insurgency in the region, and claimed the Pak Defence Secretary's comments were evidence of Islamabad's marplot intentions in Afghanistan.
"Everyone knows that both countries - Afghanistan and India - are always under the threat of terrorist havens located in Pakistain," political expert Jawed Kohestani said. "So, Pakistain is afraid of India's (as a powerful anti-terrorism country) presence in Afghanistan and its support from Afghanistan."
Other experts emphasized Pakistain's supposed role in fueling the protracted hostilities in Afghanistan.
"Pakistain was always a meddler in Afghan and Indian affairs, and it has always played the role of creating instability in the region, especially in Afghanistan. And now, after 2014, the US, India and Afghanistan are strategic partners," a Kabul University lecturer said, asking to remain unnamed.