Kabul: Even as it gets ready to host leaders of about 80 countries and organisations in an international conference in Kabul on Tuesday, Afghanistan has assuaged India's security concerns in the war-torn country.
On Monday, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai met External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and assured that India will be consulted before integrating the Taliban into the mainstream.
In a meeting which lasted for about 45 minutes, both sides exchanged views on strengthening bilateral ties. Krishna and Karzai also discussed the revival of Indian medical mission in Kabul. The mission is likely to resume functioning from August 2010.
Afghanistan has also assured full cooperation to ensure the safety and security of Indians.
The international conference in Kabul aims to outline Karzai's roadmap for peace and reconciliation with the Taliban and integration of its cadres into the mainstream.
Amid tight security, world leaders will brainstorm on the future of Afghanistan, which stands at a "critical turning point" in its efforts to achieve lasting peace, security and stability.
The International Conference on Afghanistan is the largest gathering of foreign leaders in the war-torn nation since 1970s and will take place amid a spurt in suicide bombings and attacks by the Taliban on US-led NATO forces, which has suffered the deadliest single month in June when its 79 soldiers lost their lives.
Krishna, who is heading the Indian delegation, will attend the conference and is expected to express India's commitment to providing all necessary help Afghanistan wants for its nation-building, official sources told PTI.
Krishna, who met Karzai immediately after his arrival, backed the Afghan President's efforts to ensure peace, security and development in the region.
He is also expected to convey India's support to Karzai government's efforts for reintegration of Taliban elements if that leads to "genuine peace", the sources said.
India does not see anything wrong if individual Taliban cadres are rehabilitated after they give up violence, abide by the Afghan Constitution and commit to respect human rights, including women's rights.
However, any reconciliation with the Taliban as a group or entity is seen by India as alarming.
The conference is a follow-up to a London summit in January, when donors pledged some USD 160 million for Afghanistan's plans to reintegrate and create jobs for Taliban fighters who renounce violence.
Hosted by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the meeting is expected to deliberate and endorse an Afghan government-led plan to improve security, ensure good governance and crack down on corruption that has plagued the country.
Facing nine years of Taliban insurgency, Karzai is pressing to reconcile with all the insurgent groups, including the dreaded Haqqani network and Taliban no. 2 Mullah Baradar, as a way to end the war and consolidate his own grip on power.
The Obama administration hopes to start the process of withdrawing its soldiers from July 2011. The Taliban have repeatedly turned down past peace overtures from Karzai, saying they will engage in peace talks only when all of the 140,000 foreign troops leave Afghanistan.
A number of foreign ministers, including British Foreign Secretary William Hague and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon are attending the meeting.
The International Conference on Afghanistan, the first of its kind in Kabul, will mark the culmination of several months of intensive study and rigorous policy debate on Government priorities implemented through national programmes, to deliver on the key goals of economic growth and job creation, according to the Afghan Foreign Ministry.
"We intend to present, in clear terms, what is needed to deliver effective services in the short and medium-term to all Afghan citizens across the entire country," it says.
A key goal of the conference is to mobilise international confidence and resources for a new generation of "bankable" national programmes, it says.
Building on commitments made at the recent international London Conference, the conference aims to support a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan, the ministry says.
"Nine years since the start of its renewed partnership with the international community, Afghanistan stands at a critical turning point in its efforts to achieve lasting peace, security, and stability," said a statement issued ahead of the conference.
Since the fall of the brutal Taliban regime in 2001 in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, international donor conferences have been held in Tokyo, Berlin, London and Paris, with pledges totalling over USD 40 billion.
Personnel of security agencies have already been deployed on entry points to Kabul city and sensitive areas and buildings.
Following a Taliban rocket attack on a peace jirga in early June attended by Karzai and other leaders, authorities said they were taking no chances.
That attack had resulted in the dismissal of Afghan Interior Minister Hanif Atmar and the head of the intelligence agency Amrullah Saleh.
At least two rockets were fired at the jirga as Karzai delivered his opening address.
"We have to prepare ourselves for the fact that the insurgents will try to disrupt it," NATO's civilian representative in Kabul Mark Sedwill said.
"Precautions are being taken but no one can offer 100 per cent guarantees," he told reporters in Kabul on Sunday.
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