Shaida Mohammad Abdali, the Afghan Ambassador to India.

Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 21

Afghanistan today came out in strong support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising the Balochistan issue and said it was a “legitimate concern”. In an exclusive interview to The Tribune, Afghanistan’s ambassador to India Shaida Mohammad Abdali said, “Modi has rightfully raised his voice on the basis of human rights violations in Balochistan.”(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)He said the people of Balochistan were suffering in a manner similar to Afghan people. “I think this is the right and moral obligation of everyone in this region to speak for those who are being oppressed,” Abdali said. The Afghan stand on Balochistan should come as great support for India as it begins its global strategy of isolating Pakistan.Abdali said Afghanistan sympathises “with those who are suffering, whether they are in our neighbourhood or beyond; and it is not the issue of just Balochs, it’s the issue of Pashtuns and that of the entire neighbourhood suffering from the menace of terrorism”.On the option of using surgical strikes against Pakistan, Abdali was clear that the first preference has to be the political and diplomatic route, “but that should also not mean that we should not resort to activities that will bring about a change in the attitude of those who have been perpetrating against peaceful nations in violent ways and means”. For Afghanistan, this indicates a shift in its strategy as it comes onboard for considering surgical strikes against a neighbour where diplomacy and dialogue fail.While the Afghan envoy said the terrorist act in Uri was “unacceptable”, he also added that “we are happy that we see strong statements, but these statements must translate into practical action”. He called for re-visiting the counter-terrorism mechanism in the region since the present one didn’t seem to be working.Abdali repeatedly pointed to a “spoiler” in the region who has made progress in SAARC and its related activities impossible. The reference is of course to Pakistan and Abdali bluntly said, “We should not allow any ‘spoiler’ in this region to spoil our unified struggle for a better future.”When asked about the functioning of SAARC, he said it has become a dysfunctional organisation as “the spoiler in the mechanism has failed the entire mechanism”. Maybe it was time to ask whether SAARC should remain as a body for the region or change, he added.When asked if India was ready to give Afghanistan the military equipment it was seeking, the envoy said “absolutely”, and pointed to the relationship that India and Afghanistan share.