US Vice President Biden assures India on Afghanistan

Visiting US Vice President Joe Biden, who arrived in Mumbai last night, today attempted to ease concerns about a possible US - Afghan Taliban political settlement.

In a wide-ranging speech at the Bombay Stock Exchange, he said the Taliban must first cut-off links with the al-Qaeda and respect the Afghan constitution that guarantees equal treatment to women.

In India to reinvigorate the flagging Indo-US ties, Biden exhorted India to end protectionism, and mooted bold decisions to strengthen the economy.

After the ouster of the Taliban, India which had invested heavily in developing the country's roads and hospitals in Afghanistan, is concerned  that a US-Taliban rapprochement would embolden Pakistan to use militant groups to enfeeble its interest.

However the US, which is preparing to withdraw most of its combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014, is now in favour of bringing the major insurgent groups into the Afghan political process.

Allaying Indian concerns, Bidensaid he was making  it clear that the US had always been committed to an "Afghan-led, Afghan-owned process" that required three outcomes - that the Taliban must break with the al-Qaeda permanently, end violence and accept the Afghan constitution, and guarantee equal treatment for women.