NEW DELHI: The Heart of Asia conference in Amritsar turned in a regional slugfest, as India and Afghanistan lashed out at Pakistan for fomenting terrorism in the region. However, Islamabad found support in New Delhi's long term ally Moscow.
Frustrated at the impasse that Afghanistan has been facing at countering cross border terrorism, Kabul even rejected development aid from Islamabad saying it could be used for combating extremism.
Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, while inaugurating the ministerial level conference, aimed at raising investments for the reconstruction of his war-ravaged country, said that terror in his country cannot last even for one month without support from outside. The conference declaration did not name Pakistan but did mention many terror organisations based in its territory.
Afghanistan is the permanent co-chair of the summit the process for which started in Istanbul. Hence the sharp words coming from President Ghani carried more weight. While rejecting Pakistan’s proposal of $500 million fund for development, President Ghani addressed Advisor to Pakistan’s Prime Minister On Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz directly and said : “This fund, Mr. Aziz, could very well be used for containing extremism because without peace any amount of assistance will not meet the needs of our people. "
The conference that came close on the heels of Uri and Nagrota terror attacks had terrorism hanging in the backdrop of the conference. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also called for action against terrorists and those who “support, shelter, train and finance them” as “silence and inaction against terrorism in Afghanistan and our region" will only embolden terrorists and their masters.
Aziz's visit, first for a Pakistani official since Pathankot terror attack derailed talks between the two countries, also failed to thaw the frostiness in Indo-Pak bilateral ties. He had to leave without any bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi or Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. There have been photographs of Aziz with Modi and Doval doing rounds of social media. However, the Ministry of External Affairs put an end to speculations of talks as its spokesperson Vikas Swarup stated “categorically” that “there was no pull aside or bilateral meeting between the two.” Aziz was not even allowed to interact with media at Golden Temple owing to "security reasons".
However, Aziz rejected the blame of terrorism placed on Pakistan’s door. “The security situation in Afghanistan is very complex. It is simplistic to blame only one country for the recent upsurge in violence. We need to have an objective and holistic view,” Aziz said at the conference. Aziz had arrived a day prior to his scheduled arrival, that he cited as Pakistan’s commitment to peace "despite escalation" along the border.
Facing a pincer attack from India and Afghanistan, Pakistan found an unexpected ally in Russia. “I’m sure President Ghani had strong reasons to do so, but I don’t think the HoA is the right place for settling scores,” Russia’s special envoy on Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov told reporters in Amritsar.
The Amritsar declaration mentioned about ending sanctuaries and squeezing the terror funding. The statement named global terror organisations like Al Qaeda and Islamic State and termed the Pakistan - based Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and the Haqqani Network as the fountainhead of terrorism.