India should not consider deploying troops in Afghanistan under any circumstances but should step up other diplomatic engagements, said leading strategic experts.
“We should pretty much continue to do what we are doing. What we do most effectively, which is not projected, is to persuade other international players to continue to remain engaged in Afghanistan because that’s a project of long duration. That requires great deal of persistence, perseverance and commitment in the long term. And that’s the long game that we are playing,” said Jayant Prasad, former Ambassador to Afghanistan and Director General of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. He was speaking on Wednesday at the release of the book The Great Game in Afghanistan: Rajiv Gandhi, General Zia and the Unending War by Kallol Bhattacherjee.
The book details the efforts to set up a coalition government in Kabul after the withdrawal of the Soviet Union. While India should increase training and provide hospitals, Mr. Prasad said, “Boots on the ground is a complete no.”
