MPs convey India's concerns to US on post-2014 Afghanistan

A bipartisan group of visiting Indian Parliamentarians has conveyed New Delhi's concerns to the US on security implications after pullout of American troops from war-torn Afghanistan in 2014.
"One of our concern is as the United States begins to pull out, there will again be short of chaos which used to be there 15-20 years ago and that will impact our relationship with neighbors in the area," Biju Janata Dal leader Baijayant "Jay" Panda told PTI after his meeting with top officials from the State Department and the Pentagon.
"In our meetings at the State Department and at the Pentagon, we got a sense that there has been great progress over the last one decade," he said.

The visiting Indian Parliamentarians were assured by the top American officials that the US under no circumstances would let Afghanistan redevelop into terrorist safe haven.
Panda said the US and India has been collaborating quite a lot and their interests have converged in South Asia including Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"India has played a very important role in rebuilding of Afghanistan infrastructure as well as training of personnel," he said.

The seven MPs, under the banner of India-US Forums of Parliamentarians of the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, met Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter.

They also met officials from the National Security Council of the White House. The delegation, before travelling to Boston, is also scheduled to meet lawmakers and members of the influential think tanks here.
Other members of the delegation are Supriya Sule (Nationalist Congress Party), Bhakta Charan Das (Indian National Congress), Uday Singh (BJP), Partap Singh Bajwa (Indian National Congress), Manicka Tagore (Indian National Congress), and Prem Das Rai (Sikkim Democratic Front).
Congress leader Bhakta Charan Das said they discussed enhancing co-operation in the field of military, space and increasing energy co-operation, education partnership.
"It was a good dialogue," he said, adding the members of the delegation felt a strong sense of improved relationship between the two largest democratic countries of the world.

Later in the day addressing a panel discussion at The Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based eminent American think-tank, they emphasized on co-operation in the field of education and healthcare.
Uday Singh felt that had the US-India relationship, as it is now, begun in mid or late 60s, there could have been no problem of Afghanistan or terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
In the coming years, defense would be a major area of co-operation between the two countries, he added.