Afghan woes headline Blinken talks in India

NEW DELHI－US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Indian officials on Wednesday held talks dominated by the turmoil in Afghanistan, and the United States' top diplomat also issued a veiled warning about "Indian democracy backsliding".

Blinken, in his first visit to India as secretary of state, held meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Wednesday before flying to Kuwait.

Blinken said he and Jaishankar discussed regional security issues including Afghanistan, where the US is expected to complete its military withdrawal in August. He called India's contribution to the stability of Afghanistan "vital".

India is worried that a possible takeover by the Taliban militant group will turn the country into a base for extremists to attack India.

A hijacked Indian airliner was flown to the Taliban bastion of Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 1999.

India, a firm backer of the Afghan government with billions of dollars in development aid, recently evacuated 50 staff from its Kandahar consulate due to the worsening security.

According to Brahma Chellaney, a strategic affairs expert at India's Centre for Policy Research, US President Joe Biden has further riled New Delhi with Washington's "rushed and poorly planned exit from Afghanistan", Agence France-Presse reported.

The talks in a monsoon-soaked New Delhi touched on joint efforts on making COVID-19 vaccines, climate change and, according to US officials, India's recent human rights record.

Rights groups say civil liberties and the space for dissent are under increasing attack in the South Asian country under Modi's government.

Blinken told civil society groups－his first appointment before meeting Jaishankar and Modi－that the US and India are "connected by shared values" such as the rule of law and freedom of religion.

Under Modi, India has made growing use of anti-terrorism legislation and "sedition" laws to arrest campaigners, journalists, students and others, AFP reported, citing critics.

This month, a priest and activist charged with terrorism offenses died after nine months in custody. The death of the 84-year-old prompted international outrage, including from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The Hindu nationalist administration has also brought in legislation that detractors say discriminates against India's 170-million-strong Muslim minority.

The government denies cracking down on criticism and says people of all religions have equal rights.

Modi has also been accused of trying to silence voices critical of his administration's handling of the massive wave of the pandemic that tore through the country in April and May. The government denies the claim.

Improved ties

In the talks, Indian officials were also expected to press Blinken for more support in New Delhi's border standoff with Beijing, AFP reported.

India is part of the Quad alliance with the US, Japan and Australia, seen as a group against China.

Over the past few years, ties between the US and India have improved. They have steadily ramped up their military relationship and signed a string of defense deals and deepened military cooperation.

In March, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met top Indian officials and Modi. Both sides agreed to deepen military cooperation, intelligence sharing and logistics. His visit was followed by that of climate envoy John Kerry.

But Chellaney said US backing has "slipped a notch" since Biden took over from Donald Trump as US president in January.

"Unlike top Trump administration officials who publicly... backed India, no one in Team Biden has so far lent open support to India," he said.

Agencies via Xinhua