India’s Policy toward Afghanistan: Implications to the Regional Security Governance

Abstract

As a major player in South Asia, India's priority in Afghanistan is to support the Afghan government established after 2001. However, the political and security challenges after the announcement of US military withdrawal from Afghanistan have significantly impacted India. Afghanistan is facing a dual challenge on both security and political levels. On the security level, although the counter-insurgency measures taken by both international forces led by the US and Afghan forces have lasted for more than a decade, Taliban and other Islamic extremist groups continue to exert their strong political and security influence all across Afghanistan. At the political level, the new unity government, formed by Dr. President Ashraf Ghani and Dr. Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer, after the two terms of the presidency of Hamid Karzai, shows possible divisions and uncertainty. To address the new challenges, on the one hand, India tries to continue its "soft measures" to safeguard its interests in Afghanistan, while on the other hand, India strengthens the cooperation with international organizations and other regional states to create positive conditions for Afghan stability and reconstruction. However, given the political uncertainty and worsening security surroundings in Afghanistan, India still faces several challenges.