INDIA AND TAJIKISTAN SCALING NEW HEIGHTS
Professor Nirmala Joshi & Major General BK Sharma, SM** (Retd) *
The high point of President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon’s recent visit to India was the elevation of the existing friendly ties to the level of Strategic Partnership . Describing Tajikistan as a ‘key country’ in the Central Asian region, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh highlighted the strategic significance of Tajikistan for India. In his words “ ---in view of the broad progress made in our bilateral relations, particularly in defence and security cooperation, we should elevate our relations to a strategic partnership” .The crux of this partnership lies in the regional context . Tajikistan shares a lengthy border of around 1400 km with Afghanistan and traditionally the Tajik-Afghan border has been an open one with Tajiks on either side of the border crossing it freely. Tajikistan is also physically proximate to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) which lies on the other side of Wakhan Corridor. Training camps for terrorists and their infrastructure is located in POK. Earlier Tajikistan played a geopolitically a crucial role in the defeat of the Taliban
Today even after eleven years of war on terror the situation in Afghanistan remains in a state of flux. Politically the Hamid Karzai regime is unable to extend its authority over the country or even to reach out to its citizens especially in the rural areas. Insurgency, though weakened, is still alive and according to many analysts is likely to get resurgent in the months to come. Meanwhile, the drawdown date, end of 2014, when the US led North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) forces begin to withdraw is just away by over two years. The question uppermost in the minds of all the stakeholders in peace and stability in Afghanistan; is would the security transition by then be completed successfully?
The significance of the Strategic Partnership Agreement lies in the shared security perceptions in our common neighborhood and the difficult imponderables that are emerging and likely to get accentuated by the end of 2014. What is in common with the various scenarios being predicted is the outbreak of violence once the withdrawal begins. What is uncertain is the scale of violence. It is part of India’s effort to forge a regional consensus aimed at ensuring security and stability in the region. On 4 October 2011, India signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement with Afghanistan, the first such agreement signed by the latter. These agreements are congruent with the security interests of all the three countries. Hence, it is clear that the post 2014 scenario is the focus.
The visit of President Rahmon provided an excellent opportunity to discuss some of the common threats to their respective countries and to regional security. The biggest challenge was the continuing insurgency and the safe havens these insidious forces enjoyed in the Afghanistan-Pakistan borderlands. In this regard Tajikistan’s sense of vulnerability has increased. Reports suggest that many extremists and terrorist forces have sought shelter in the Gorno Badkhshan region of Tajikistan. These forces cross over from POK and take refuge in the eastern part of the country which is mountainous and offers a perfect hideout to the insurgents. There were reports also of Central Asians including Tajiks offering themselves as mercenaries to fight alongside the Taliban. For decades India has been battling these forces in its state of Jammu and Kashmir. That the views of the two countries coincided fully was evident from the following: the Joint Statement issued at the end of the visit underscored that “--those aiding, abetting and sheltering terrorists were as guilty of acts of terrorism as their actual perpetrators “. Importantly Tajikistan endorsed India’s stand that those responsible for the Mumbai carnage of 2008 should be brought to justice expeditiously.
India and Tajikistan were also of the view that regional security was linked to developments in Afghanistan. Sustained peace and stability in Afghanistan was essential for regional security. Both the countries supported Afghanistan’s efforts to build an independent, peaceful, democratic and a prosperous Afghan state.
In view of their similar concerns for regional security, India and Tajikistan have agreed to expand their on-going defence cooperation. India is involved in defence capacity building as well as in building defence related infrastructure. It may be added that when former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee visited Dushanbe in 2003 India had agreed to upgrade and refurbish the Ayni air base near Dushanbe.Presntly India would be involved in upgrading the Gissar air base. India had also built a military hospital in Tajikistan which was used by the forces of Northern Alliance fighting the Taliban. Ahmed Shah Masoud well known as the ‘Lion of Panjshir ‘was brought to the hospital after being fatally shot by a journalist . After the defeat of the Taliban the hospital was shifted to Kabul. Presently India has agreed to build a “friendship hospital “in southern Tajikistan for both military and civilian use. It was also agreed to deepen the mechanism for information sharing, data, financing of terrorism and related matters. This has further added substance and content to Strategic Partnership.
Another significant aspect of the visit was the strong bilateral content. In this regard wide-ranging agreements were signed. These included the textile sector, education, health, labour, sports and culture. India also announced as part of its developmental partnership with Tajikistan to explore further areas of cooperation such as an IT Centre of excellence, an e-network, including tele-education. Medical centers Language laboratories an Entrepreneurship Development Institute among other fields. Two factors explain the proposed robust areas for cooperation. One Indian involvement in Afghanistan is growing and is likely to increase after 2014. It is essential that Indian effort should not be ified by the forces of extremism and terrorism, which are taking refuge in Tajikistan and can operate from there due to the open nature of the Tajik-Afghan border. Since Tajikistan is one of the focal points in the Northern Distribution Network of the coalition forces, it has already come under the scanner of the insurgents. For Indian efforts in Afghanistan to bear fruit, peace and stability in Tajikistan is of equal importance. Secondly, linked with peace and stability is the Indian stake of progress and prosperity in Tajikistan. The arrays of areas announced by India for cooperation are aimed at this objective.
The regional context of India-Tajikistan relations is the crux of the ties, a wide ranging bilateral content encompassing security, economic, cultural and developmental aspects augurs well for a multifaceted and an enduring relationship. India should pursue a pro active policy to achieve its objectives.
* Professor Nirmala Joshi and Major General BK Sharma, SM** (Retd) are Research Advisor and Distinguished Fellow respectively at the Centre for Strategic Studies and Simulation, USI.
(Article uploaded on September 12, 2012).
Disclaimer : The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the organisation that they belongs to or of the USI.