Should India supply arms to Afghanistan?
Should India supply arms to Afghanistan?
U.S withdrawing the security troops has put Afghanistan’s security in danger. Being the neighbouring country for Afghanistan, it should be our duty to help them out when in need.
For:
- If India cooperates in providing arms and security to Afghanistan it strengthen the Strategic Partnership Agreement inked between the two countries
- Under the Strategic Partnership Agreement, India is already responsible for training the Afghan army and the police people and hence equipping Afghan with arms would be enclosed under this agreement itself
- Nations increase the support of strategic heft by supplying arms and ammunitions to the neighbouring countries
- Afghanistan’s stability is critical for South Asia’s armistice and sanctuary
Against
- The supplying of arms will spoil the Indo – Pak relations all the more hence increasing terrorist activities
- Currently India is not in a position to supply Afghanistan with arms because of the laxity of production
- It is difficult to discern amongst friends and enemies due to numerous skirmishes occurring concurrently
- The imports of arms and ammunitions are limited in India and that there is no guarantee that in the future the relations might not get strained between India and Afghanistan
- Foreseeing the future, it is not wise to supply a frequently unstable country with arms and ammunitions
- With India’s foreign policy capacity being the weakest at the moment, it would be taking extra load of delivering the arms without having the means to deal with the consequences.
Conclusion:
- Looking at the current situation of India, it would not be wise enough to supply arms to Afghanistan.
Discussion
- RE: Should India supply arms to Afghanistan? -Rishika Jalan (04/17/14)
- Keeping in mind the present scenario, it is not a wise decision for India to supply arms to Afghanistan. By doing so India will only spoil its relations with other countries like Pakistan and America. Moreover, the production capacity of our nation is also not sufficient enough to supply arms to others. A limited amount is imported to our country and is not enough that we can distribute it to Afghanistan. Such an action will trigger many terrorist activities and start a inter country war. And not having any guarantee and clarity between friends and enemies, it is will be a very risky and dangerous decision for India.
But on the other side, if India does supply Afghanistan with arms then it can encourage friendly and amiable relations with it. The Strategic Partnership Agreement between the two countries can be strengthened with this action which can turn into something very big and positive in the future. But taking this risk at the moment is a million dollar question for India. - RE: Should India supply arms to Afghanistan? -Rajani Sharma (01/07/14)
- For:
• India should not hesitate in supplying arms to Afghanistan to shore up that country's security interests.
• Today Afghanistan is standing at a crucial juncture. Kabul needs the continued support of its alliances for the coming years as the Taliban revolution is still alive and kicking.
• As India is already giving training to the Afghan army and police personnel as part of the bilateral cooperation framework. If India helps and cooperates in supplying arms to Afghanistan, then this would strengthen the Strategic Partnership Agreement which was inked between the two countries in 2011.
• Afghanistan’s stability is crucial for South Asia's peace and security. Ensuring Afghan’s stability would shore up Pakistan's security interests as well. In general, nations would shore up their strategic heft by exporting arms to friendly countries. As India lives in a dangerous part of the world, thus cannot think of foregoing this option.
Against:
• Looking at the current situation of India, it would not be wise enough to supply arms to Afghanistan.
• Considering the ways events in Afghanistan are happening following the winding down of US military involvement there, will impact India. If it is in India's interest to stay engaged with Afghanistan then this engagement should not be pushed to the level of supplying arms to the Afghan government as we don't have the capacity to deal with the fallout.
• In the current scenario, it is difficult to discern amongst friends and foes as there are many conflicts going on simultaneously. In such scenario, arms supplies must be avoided as there is no guarantee on how alliances will emerge in Afghanistan. Today they are friends, tomorrow they might be enemies. Thus it is not rational to push arms into a chronically unstable country.
• In past we have seen that India's institutional capacity to deal with foreign policy is very weak. Thus, looking at the future, it won’t be advisable to supply arms to Afghanistan, otherwise it would be India's attempt to punch above its weight, without having the means to deal with consequences.
• Supplying of arms to Afghanistan will spoil the Indo – Pak relations all the more hence increasing terrorist activities.
• Due to the laxity of production, currently India is not in a position to supply Afghanistan with arms. The imports of arms and ammunitions are limited in India and that there is no guarantee that in the future the relations might not get strained between India and Afghanistan.
