Kochi: Former Ambassador of India Venu Rajamony stated that India should adopt a ‘wait and watch’ approach in Afghanistan. The recent developments in Afghanistan are a major setback for India, he said while speaking at a webinar organised by Centre for Public Policy Research, Kochi on Political Crisis in Afghanistan: The National Interests of India and China.

Ambassador Rajamony remarked that India’s strategy will have to evolve based on what’s happening on ground in Afghanistan. “India will wait and watch, and when it needs to intervene in whatever manner, it will”, he said. He also warned that there could be a spillover from Afghanistan into Central Asia as India’s neighbourhood is not in the happiest situation.

Professor Harsh V Pant, Head of the Strategic Studies Programme at Observer Research Foundation, pointed out that there is no particular need for India to devise a definite strategy in Afghanistan as these are still early days. He also added that being a major power in South Asia, India should engage with new dispensation on its own terms.