Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan needs to be addressed: India

Vinay Shukla

Moscow, Mar 28 (PTI) Extending its "fullest support" to
the goal of countering terrorist and narco-threats emanating
from Afghanistan, India has said the resurgence of the Taliban
in the war-ravaged country has to be "frontally acknowledged
and addressed".

Prime Minister's special envoy S K Lambah's comments here
came on a day on which US President Barack Obama sought global
cooperation in the war against terror in Afghanistan, saying
"the world cannot afford the price" of a Taliban win there.

"The resurgence of the Taliban, the security situation in
the southern and eastern provinces, the growing security
difficulties in the north and the western provinces are
factors far too corrosive not to be frontally acknowledged and
addressed," Lambah said at an international conference on
Afghanistan sponsored by Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

He backed SCO rotating-president Russia-hosted meet's
goal of countering terrorist and narco-threats to the region
emanating from the war-torn South Asian nation, while noting
that Afghan government has made significant achievements.

"This is a goal to which India offers its fullest support
and which in fact is an essential building block for the
security and stability of the entire region," Lambah declared.

Lambah underscored that the growing drug economy has been
fuelling terrorism in Afghanistan and though the UN annual
survey has shown a decline in poppy cultivation in 2008, it
continues unabated in the insurgency and terrorism-prone
southern and south-eastern provinces.

"Any long-term and sustainable solution lies in public
awareness along with an offer of an alternative system of
livelihood," he said.

Talking to the Indian media here before leaving for home
he noted that it was the first such endeavour by the Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in which India has an observer
status along with Pakistan and Iran.

"It was very well attended," he said.

Besides the SCO members and observer nations, UN
Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, envoys of G-8 nations including
the US, representatives of NATO, EU, and Organisation of
Islamic Countries attended the one-day conference.

He noted a very "non-confrontational" atmosphere at the
meet, where US and Iranian officials could be seen amicably
finalising the joint declaration on Afghanistan. PTI VS
SAK
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