'India, Afghanistan being bitten by same snake'

Hitting out at Pakistan without naming it, a former top Afghan security official today said India should do more in Afghanistan as both the nations are being "bitten by a common snake", as he claimed terror has killed over 20,000 people in his country.
Security experts also raised concerns over talks of "conditioning security assistance" to Pakistan and said such a approach requires a critical look.
Last week, in his written submission to the Senate Armed Services Committee President-elect Donald Trump's Defence Secretary nominee Gen (retd) James Mattis had noted that "conditioning our security assistance" to Pakistan has a mixed history, "but I will review all option."

Amrullah Saleh, former head of the National Directorate of Security, Afghanistan, said the West is making a mistake in its understanding the narrative in Afghanistan and assuming that the situation there is still like it was in the 90s.
He said the talks of reconciliation with the Taliban and other insurgent groups should not be Afghan-led, but it should be by the Afghanistan government.
"India has won hearts of people of Afghanistan by doing good work in education, energy, urban development.

"But as India is rising and pursuing noble cause of partnership, it should do more in Afghanistan because we face a common enemy and being bitten by the same snake. There is a neighbour who is training snakes and are in the business of selling snake venom," Saleh said without naming Pakistan.

He was speaking at session on Terror Inc- Combating State and non-State actors at the Raisina Dialogue 2017.
Saleh said the US policy of a possible conditioning security assistance to Pakistan needs a "critical look".
"The policy of giving aid, incentives to delink Pakistan army from insurgents and non-State actors has not worked," Saleh said.
Christine Fair, Associate Professor, Georgetown University, USA and an expert on Pakistan, advocated change in India's approach towards terrorism.
She said, India should focus on taking on core leaders of the terror groups as it would help repel threats before they enter India.
(Reopens DEL 94)

She also advocated a sub-conventional deterrence to tackle Pakistan and terror groups sponsored by it.
Faizan Sobhan, Research Director, Bangladesh Enterprise Institute said one requires innovative solution to tackle the problem of terror and advocated a national, regional and international plan to tackle the menace.
Sobhan also advocated greater coordination within the SAARC to deal with terrorism.
Foad Izadi, a senior consultant at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Iran, said there are several schools of thought in Islam that promote terrorism and Muslims have not been able to fix it.
Boris Michel, Director (Asia-Pacific), International Committee of the Red Cross, said civilians are the first victims of terror.