NEW DELHI: In what cannot be good news for India, Iran on Friday questioned the motive behind the Wikileaks expose on ISI-Taliban links saying the leak of 92,000 US documents was proving to be a strain on the move towards political stability in Afghanistan.
Describing the motive behind Wikileaks as suspicious, immediately after his talks with Indian officials in Delhi on Friday, Iran's deputy foreign minister for Asia and Pacific affairs Mohammed Ali Fathollahi went on to say that Iran believed in cooperation with Pakistan on the Afghanistan issue.
Even as Fathollahi claimed that India and Iran had "close viewpoints" on Afghanistan, he said enough to suggest that the two nations may not be on the same page over the issue. "We are suspicious about the motive behind what has been revealed by Wikileaks because the issues raised are not new ones. We believe there are special objectives behind this leakage which has come at a time when things in Afghanistan are moving towards more stability and more constructive role for the Afghan government," Fathollahi said.
The minister was asked specifically about ISI links with Taliban as brought out by the Wikileaks documents. When asked about Pakistan's role in Afghanistan, the minister said only Pakistan could talk about that and "Iran always believes in cooperation with Pakistan".
The minister's remarks, coupled with Iran's constant demand for immediate withdrawal of international troops from the region, are a complete antithesis of India's stand on Afghanistan. One of the reasons for India stepping up engagement with Iran in the recent past has been the fact that, like India, Tehran too has shunned the idea of good Taliban.
"The heavy presence of military can't be a solution to the problem. The Afghanistan government should be trusted and we must believe in its capabilities," Fathollahi said.
On the important issue of Chabahar port, which will allow India access to Afghanistan and Central Asia, the minister said its development was on Iran's agenda. "We know it is of interest to India. It is already operationalised with a capacity to handle 2 million tonnes of goods. We will develop it further," he said, adding that the target was to take the capacity to 12 million tonnes per year with the availability of more funds.
While there have been suggestions in India about reviving the Northern Alliance in the face of threat from Taliban, Fathollahi categorically said that "Northern Alliance is not separated from other parts of Afghanistan".
He also allayed fears that sanctions on Iran would have any "drastic impact" on trade with India or other Asian countries.
Fathollahi held talks with foreign secretary Nirupama Rao and also met foreign minister S M Krishna and his deputy Preneet Kaur. The minister's utterances suggest that despite India's attempts, Iran is a long way from supporting India in the manner Russia has done. While the Russians share India's antipathy for Taliban, they also do not favour immediate withdrawal of US-led forces from the country.Link
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