JAMMU: Department of Strategic and Regional Studies,
University of Jammu and White Knight Corps jointly conducted a two day Seminar
on Afghanistan Dynamics at General Zorawar Singh Auditorium. The Seminar
concluded today with a round table discussion on India’s policy options in
Afghanistan.
The seminar titled ‘Afghanistan Dynamics :
Impact on Regional and Strategic Environment’, was graced by eminent
strategists and luminaries who generated discourses on present situation in Afghanistan.
It started yesterday with the Inaugural Address by Lt Gen Balbir Pama, SM,
Chief of Staff Northern Command, who defined the aim of the Seminar as being
two folds. One, to see how India as a friend could contribute in Afghanistan’s
rebuilding and secondly to see as to how the unfolding situation may affect
India in general and J&K in particular, in the backdrop of US drawdown.
The key note address was delivered by
Ambassador KC Singh. Mr Singh highlighted how the society in Afghanistan was
segmented and why the US withdrawal at this juncture was not in anybody’s
interest. He said that Pakistan had overplayed its hand in opposing US and is
now desperately trying for a reset of their equation.
Prof MPS Ishar, Hon’ble Vice Chancellor Jammu
University presided over the inaugural session. In his address The VC said, we
should understand that countries act as per their permanent interests. The
interests of big powers may not be in our favour and we should act as per our
own strategic concerns.
Among the other eminent speakers were
Ambassador MK Bhadrakumar, Dr SS Bloeria, Hon’ble Vice Chancellor Central
University, Prof GN Khaki from Kashmir University, economic expert Prof Nisar
Ali, Prof Gulshan Dietl from JNU and many senior serving and retired army
officers.
Spanned over four sessions and a round table,
the Seminar covered subjects like Afghan political situation, resurgence of
Taliban, stakes of India and other regional countries in Afghan nation building,
implications of impending US withdrawal and India’s policy options.
Ambassador Bhadrakumar, who headed the
Pakistan desk in MEA in the first half of nineties, said that we should not see
Taliban from the prism of Western countries. We should endeavour to open our
own communication channels with them and look for a regional cooperation
framework. Good relations with Pakistan are a key to peace in the neighbourhood
and Indian Government has initiated right steps in that direction. However, Mr
Bhadrakumar said, the situation is fluid and we need to remain vigilant. We should
not lower our guard on the border management front and do everything to prevent
overflow of terror into our territory.
Most of the speakers in the final session
were of the view that India faces a threat in the eventuality of US withdrawal
and consequently Taliban regaining space in the polity of Afghanistan. It may
have adverse impact on our security and India needs to gear up for the
challenge by putting in place its internal security framework and revisiting the
counter mechanisms.
In his concluding remarks Lt Gen A S Nandal,
AVSM, SM, GOC White Knight Corps said, “There is an increasing realization
amongst the world community today that dealing with terrorism is an extremely
complex process and there are no quick fix solutions”. He further added that “India’s
strategic vision for Afghanistan is based on belief that economic and human
resource development is the best way to deal with myopic ideologies which are
trying to push mankind back to medieval times.
It is heartening to see that most countries in the world, including bulk
of our neighbors, today agree with our vision and policies. Our challenge lies
in preventing the spillover of Taliban ideology and the resultant violence into
our country, especially in J&K. The challenge is immense, but not
insurmountable. By employing skillful diplomacy and other means available to the
state we can overcome this challenge”.
The Seminar was attended by students of Jammu
University in large numbers. It set another milestone by involving Bhaderwah
Campus also through a video conference. Students of Bhaderwah raised relevant
issues at the end of each session and the initiative was appreciated by one and
all.
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