India will not deploy troops in Afghanistan, the country’s Defense Minister, Nirmala Sitharam, said on Tuesday after talks with her U.S. counterpart.
“There shall not be boots from India on the ground (in Afghanistan),’’ Sitharaman said after talks with U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, the first cabinet-level official from the Trump administration to visit India.
Trump, while talking of U.S. strategies in Afghanistan recently, had requested that India take more involvement in the troubled region.
Sitharaman said India has been contributing to the reconstruction of Afghanistan for a long time and would continue to support a range of initiatives in areas related to development, health and infrastructure.
The two sides also made statements against terrorism.
“As global leaders, India and the United States resolve to work together to eradicate the scourge.
According to Mattis, there can be no safe haven anywhere for terrorists, though he did not name Pakistan.
“Sitharaman asked Mattis to raise the issue when he visited Pakistan.
“The very same forces which find safe haven in Pakistan are the same that hit at New York and Mumbai,’’ Mattis said.