EDGERTON FOUNDATION – PACIFIC COUNCIL SOUTH ASIAN SECURITY SERIES

India in Afghanistan: Problem or Solution?

A conversation with

Ashley Tellis
Senior Associate for South Asia, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Moderated by

Sanjay Kucheria
Chairman and CEO, Trinus Corporation

Evening Program
Tuesday, August 17
6:00 – 7:30 pm
Los Angeles

*The Pacific Council gratefully acknowledges the Edgerton Foundation, directed by Dr. Bradford W. Edgerton and Ms. Louise D. Edgerton, for underwriting the South Asian Security Lecture Series.*

 
The Pacific Council will convened a discussion with Ashley Tellis on India in Afghanistan. Since 2001, India's involvement in Afghanistan has been unprecedented by historical standards. Today, India is one of Afghanistan's largest international donors and a key source of support for the national government in Kabul. While these Indian contributions have been welcomed by the international community, including the United States, they have unnerved Pakistan, which views India's efforts as an attempt to "encircle" it from the west. Pakistan's continued support for the Afghan Taliban is shaped primarily by its desire to counter India and prevent it from acquiring dominant influence in Afghanistan. So, is India the problem or the solution in Afghanistan?

Dr. Ashley J. Tellis is a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, specializing in international security, defense, and Asian strategic issues, and former senior adviser to the Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, where he was intimately involved in negotiating the civil nuclear agreement with India. He has served as senior adviser to the ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, and on the National Security Council staff as special assistant to the President and senior director for Strategic Planning and Southwest Asia. Prior to his government service, Tellis was senior policy analyst at the RAND Corporation and professor of Policy Analysis at the RAND Graduate School.