U.S. National Security Adviser Lt. General (retired) H.R. McMaster arrived in Delhi, the first such visit by a senior official of the Trump administration for talks that are expected to set the course of bilateral relations. He is expected to extend a formal invitation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Washington in the next few months.
The visit will be watched particularly closely for its timing, as it comes close on the heels of the Russian conference on Afghanistan in Moscow on April 14 and 15, which India attended and where Russia offered to mediate between the Taliban and the Ashraf Ghani government; and the detonation of the U.S.’s largest non-nuclear weapon, the MOAB, over Afghanistan.
Regional consultations
Mr. McMaster, who travelled to Delhi from Kabul and Islamabad as a part of “regional consultations,” according to an official release, will discuss the future of security operations in Afghanistan, India’s role in Afghanistan as well as the India-Pakistan impasse, and will meet his Indian counterpart, Ajit Doval, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Mr. Modi. Of particular note will be discussions on India’s concerns with cross-border terrorism from Pakistan, and tensions that have increased recently over the sentencing to death of Kulbhushan Jadhav in Pakistan, accused of spying for India.
In Kabul, Mr. McMaster said he would impress on Pakistan that it was important to give up support to the Haqqani group and the Taliban. “The best way to pursue their interests in Afghanistan and elsewhere is through the use of diplomacy, and not through the use of proxies that engage in violence,” he told the Tolo news channel.
The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said that Mr. McMaster had “expressed appreciation for Pakistan’s democratic and economic development, and stressed the need to confront terrorism in all its forms,” during his discussions with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and senior advisers.
In its version of the meeting, Mr. Sharif’s office said they had also discussed India-Pakistan ties. Pakistan has praised the U.S. administration’s recent remarks on mediating between New Delhi and Islamabad, something India has been opposed to.
Sharif stand
“[PM Sharif] welcomed President Trump’s willingness to help India and Pakistan resolve their differences, particularly on Kashmir and noted that this could go a long way in bringing sustainable peace, security and prosperity in the region,” a statement issued in Islamabad said. The Pakistan Foreign Ministry also said that Foreign Adviser Sartaj Aziz had briefed the U.S. NSA “on the plight of Kashmiris” in Jammu and Kashmir, referring to Pakistan’s allegations against Indian security forces.
General McMaster is being accompanied on the visit by several National Security Council officials, including the most recently appointed director for South Asia, Lisa Curtis.
Tougher line
Ms. Curtis, who is a renowned expert on the region, has advocated a tougher line on Pakistan, and co-authored a paper in February this year suggesting enforcing conditions on military aid to Pakistan with action against terror groups in the region, including the Lashkar-e-Taiba. However, the figures released in April 2017 of security-related aid that the Trump administration has requested from the U.S. Congress for Pakistan indicate the U.S. government has not decreased its allocations for the upcoming year.
Mr. McMaster’s visit to the Af-Pak region and India is also remarkable as in the past few years U.S. officials have avoided visiting Islamabad and New Delhi on the same trip, in keeping with a policy of de-hyphenating relations between the two. A recent statement by the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. indicating Mr. Trump’s desire to mediate between India and Pakistan are also in focus, given India’s statement rejecting the offer. The U.S. State department later clarified that there had been “no change” in its policy in the region, and that India and Pakistan must resolve their issues through “direct dialogue.”
