Ahead of India tour, Tillerson pays surprise visit to Afghanistan

Smita Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 23 

Ahead of his India tour, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson paid a surprise visit to Kabul on Monday. 

He was hosted by Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive of the National Unity government Dr Abdullah Abdullah.

Tillerson, who is on his first official visit to South Asia after the West Asia leg, discussed US President Donald Trump’s recently unveiled Afghanistan strategy.

Trump had sought a larger and active development role for India in the war-torn country. 

An official statement said Tillerson in his meetings with Ghani underlined the US government’s commitment to work with the Afghan government and regional partners to “achieve peace in Afghanistan and deny safe havens to terrorists who threaten that goal”.

There has been a sharp spike in attacks by the Taliban in Afghanistan, including the deadly terror strike at the Afghan National Army base in Kandahar last week killing nearly sixty people and the earlier attack at the Kabul airport, during the visit of US Defence Secretary James Mattis.

Interestingly, Tillerson’s Kabul stopover also comes just hours ahead of President Ghani’s one-day working visit to India.

Regional security challenges, cross-border terrorism and economic cooperation will dominate talks between India-Afghan and India-US leaders over the next 48 hours. 

Delhi and Washington DC have intensified engagements over the reconstruction work in Kabul, even as the Trump administration has sent out mixed signals of re-hyphenation of India and Pakistan.

Tillerson will hold talks with the Pakistani leadership on Tuesday before flying in to Delhi tomorrow night as per sources.

His message in Islamabad on Pakistani support especially to the Haqqani network and Afghan Taliban will be closely watched. 

Afghan President to hold talks in Delhi 

Ghani had been extended an invitation when NSA Ajit Doval was in Kabul last week for discussions. Both sides review the bilateral strategic partnership, including the New Development Partnership and hold consultations and coordinate efforts to combat the menace of terrorism, said a Ministry of External Affairs statement. 

Ghani’s visit comes within weeks of high-level exchanges with Afghanistan, including visit of its chief executive and foreign minister to Delhi.

During his visit, President Ghani will meet with President Ram Nath Kovind and hold delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will host a lunch in Ghani’s honour.

Ghani will deliver a public address at the Vivekanand International Foundation outlining his strategy and vision to seek peace for the Afghan people.