AFGHAN AMBASSADOR OPEN TO INCREASED INDIAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 000729

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/12/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV MOPS ELTN AF PK IR IN
SUBJECT: AFGHAN AMBASSADOR OPEN TO INCREASED INDIAN
COOPERATION

Classified By: Ambassador David C. Mulford for Reasons 1.4 (B,D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Afghan Ambassador to India, Dr. Sayed
Makhdoom Raheen, told Ambassador Mulford February 12 that
India and Afghanistan had a strong relationship, and that
Indian help in strengthening Afghanistan's infrastructure was
welcome. He said that Pakistan is overly sensitive about
India's interests in Afghanistan, suggesting that Afghanistan
needs peace and cooperation with all of its neighbors. He
observed that the South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC),which Afghanistan has just joined, could
help encourage the creation of a land route from Afghanistan
to India, but lamented that Pakistan "is not ready for that."
Afghanistan had tried to maintain a friendship with Iran, he
said, warning that "we have to be careful at the moment" with
that relationship. END SUMMARY.

Afghanistan Needs Cooperation With Its Neighbors
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2. (C) Afghan Ambassador to India, Dr. Sayed Makhdoom
Raheen, told Ambassador Mulford February 12 that India and
Afghanistan had enjoyed a strong relationship for two
thousand years, and that Afghanistan never in its history had
a problem with India. He stated that the American military
presence in Afghanistan was good for all, indicating that the
U.S. presence encouraged cooperation. When pressed for
specific ideas on how India and the U.S. could cooperate more
in Afghanistan, Raheen noted that India could be particularly
helpful in reconstructing Afghanistan's infrastructure, most
notably in the areas of road building, electricity, power and
information technology. Asked what limitations India faced
on helping Afghanistan, Raheen remarked that "Pakistan is
usually too sensitive." He said that Pakistan misinterprets
the role of India's four consulates in Afghanistan,
attributing to them various nefarious activities. He
articulated that Afghanistan needs peace and cooperation with
all of its neighbors, and observed that there were signs of
improvement in India's relationship with Pakistan. "Before,
there was no optimism," he said, "but now, there are
negotiations."

"Even small projects can change things"
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3. (C) Raheen was positive on the prospect of Indian
assistance to the Afghan bureaucracy, remarking that such
training could take place in both India and Afghanistan, and
noting that officials could be trained in both India and
Kabul. "It is very important for the Afghan people to see
the fruit of reconstruction," underscored Raheen, asserting
that projects did not necessarily have to be large to have an
impact. "Even small projects can change things," he averred,
suggesting that India could send enough qualified people to
help reconstruct Afghanistan's traditional irrigation system,
which had been mostly destroyed. Asked what was constraining
India from taking an active role in the reconstruction of
Afghanistan, Raheen theorized that Pakistan had made Indian
assistance to Afghanistan a sensitive issue. "Pakistan

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doesn't have the right to worry about this kind of
involvement - training and helping people," Raheen claimed.

Pakistan an Obstacle to A Land Route to India?
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4. (C) Turning to the prospect of constructing a land route
from Afghanistan to India, Raheen noted that "Afghanistan
historically has connected central to south Asia," adding
that it had been known as a center for cultural exchanges and
business transactions. Raheen argued that it would be up to
SAARC to smooth the way for a transit route, but opined that
"Pakistan is not ready for that," citing Pakistani
spokeswoman Tasneen Aslam as having stated that public
opinion was not ready for a land route to India. He said
that he did not believe the spokeswoman's claim, noting that
he had worked in Pakistan before and that Pakistanis had been
very helpful to their Afghan neighbors in times of
difficulty. "This (land route issue) is a big obstacle for
us," he lamented. Raheen acknowledged that the Taliban was
encouraged and protected in Pakistan today more than it had
been in the past, noting this was dangerous to Pakistan to
itself as well as to the entire region. "I don't know why
they are doing it," he wondered, adding that perhaps there
were strong extremist elements in Pakistan's Inter-Services
Intelligence agency. Raheen was hopeful that moderate
elements in Pakistan could reemerge, and underlined that he
thought Pakistan could survive without President Musharraf.
Pakistan would move "slowly, slowly toward a democracy," in
the absence of Musharraf, predicted Raheen.

Maintaining a Friendship with Iran
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5. (C) Raheen maintained that Afghanistan needed to "be
careful about Iran for the moment," expressing concern that,
when American troops leave Afghanistan, "our neighbors will
get as greedy as they were when the Soviets left." For now,
Afghanistan would carefully maintain its "friendship with
Iran," according to Raheen.

Comment
--------------


6. (C) One Afghan diplomat told us that the April SAARC
summit could not be seen as a success for Afghanistan if
progress cannot be made toward opening a land route between
India and Afghanistan as required under the SAARC treaty.
Ambassador Raheen seems to have lowered expectations,
however, acknowledging that Pakistan is not yet ready to move
on transit rights even for humanitarian goods. END COMMENT.
MULFORD