Afghanistan should not be allowed to 'slip-back': India

United Nations, Dec 20 (PTI) As international forces prepare to leave Afghanistan by 2014, India has said the global community has to ensure that the war-torn country is not allowed to "slip-back" and called for political will to deal with terrorist safe havens outside Afghan borders. "It is important that we draw the right lessons from our past mistakes and should not let Afghanistan slip back," Charge D' Affaires of India to the UN Manjeev Singh Puri said during a UN Security Council debate on Afghanistan. He said the international community needs to avert the possibility that Afghanistan is let down or made to feel abandoned by a withdrawal of assistance post-2014. "We must ensure that Afghanistan's security is ensured through non-interference in its internal affairs," he said. "India believes in a strong, independent, sovereign, stable, democratic Afghanistan at peace with itself and its neighbours. Recent history has shown that an end to Afghanistan’s suffering requires an end to external interference in its internal affairs." Pointing out that Afghanistan faces deficits on four key fronts - security, governance, development and investment - Puri said the country will require enormous assistance for a long period of time if it is to address these four deficits adequately. "There is a real danger that as international forces withdraw from a combat role and in numbers, there will be a transition 'recession' one in which attention and aid will decline, just as the Afghan government's security demands increase." Puri said India is "seriously concerned" that the insurgency in Afghanistan remains resilient with no let up in terrorist violence. "We need concerted action to isolate and root out the syndicate of terrorism which includes elements of the al Qaeda, Taliban, Laskar-e-Taiba and other terrorist and extremist groups operating mainly from outside Afghanistan’s borders. These groups are ideologically and operationally fused and their bonds have strengthened over the years," Puri said. He said that there is need for resolute determination and political will to firmly deal with safe havens for terroristgroups outside Afghanistan’s borders in the region. India fully supports an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-driven peace and reconciliation process as opposed to an internationally-led process, accompanied by an inclusive political process and intra-Afghan dialogue with those who renounce violence, cut off ties to terrorist groups, abide by the Afghan constitution and are committed to protection for human rights, including the rights of women, he said. Puri informed the council that India is prepared to make long-term investments in Afghanistan, with Indian companies willing to invest up to USD 10 billion in mining and setting up a steel plant and related infrastructure in Afghanistan. PTI