US calls for India's support in Afghan transition

In what is being viewed as the "most significant change" in its Afghanistan strategy, United States President Barack Obama's administration has invited both India and Pakistan to be engaged in transition process of the war-torn nation, where the US intends to transfer security to Afghan forces by 2014.

"Our strategy a regional strategy and we have invited countries from Pakistan to India to be engaged in and support this transition in Afghanistan," US state department spokesman P J Crowley told mediapersons.

His remarks came more than a week after Obama's visit to India, where he discussed the Afghan situation with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

"That is perhaps the most significant change that we've put into effect over the last 18 months. It took almost two years to take it from being just about Afghanistan to it being about the region as a whole," Crowley said, adding that the US is aware of India's "genuine national security interest" in Afghanistan.

While the Obama administration has been very appreciative of India's role in Afghanistan, this is possibly for the first time that a senior US official has said that New Delhi has been invited to support the transition process in Afghanistan.

"India has significantly invested in Afghanistan, and we continue to encourage the role that India is playing to help Afghanistan develop its economy and improve its security," Crowley said.

The US envisions 2011 as the beginning of a transition where Afghanistan will take greater responsibility for its own security, culminating in Afghan leadership of its own security by 2014, he said, adding that this is important to Afghanistan and the region.

"The process between now and then is focused on helping to strengthen Afghanistan's government both at the national level and at the local level, building up critical institutions that include both military capabilities and police capabilities," Crowley said.

"This has the ability to help continue the transformation of this region. So it has benefits for Afghanistan, but as the country stabilises, it has obviously benefits that accrue to other countries, including Pakistan, including India and others. As you build up institutions and they perform, you can expect to see improvements in the Afghan economy and the export of Afghan goods to other countries in the region," he concluded.