The government of Afghanistan may, at some future point, seek India's military assistance if talks with the Taliban fail amid a withdrawal of US troops from there, the country's Ambassador to India has said. He, however, made it clear that the aid sought would not involve sending troops but could be in areas like training and technical support.
Representatives of the Taliban and the Afghanistan government have been holding talks amid the insurgents' increasing control over the country even as the US looks to wind up its almost two-decade war there by the end of August.
However, the peace talks supposedly taking place in Doha have largely fizzled out, and the Taliban now appear set on a complete military victory, AFP reported on Tuesday.
"Should we not get to a stage in the peace process with the Taliban, then maybe a time (will come) where we would be seeking India's military assistance, more military assistance in the years ahead," Farid Mamundzay, Afghanistan's Ambassador to India, told NDTV.
"We are not seeking India's assistance with sending troops to Afghanistan. Their footprint in Afghanistan to fight our war would not be needed at this stage," he clarified.
He explained how, for instance, how the Air Force is an area where his country would require assistance in and that more opportunities could be explored on this front. The envoy cited pilot training, for which India is "naturally a place" it would want involvement from.