Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, backing Kabul's peace plan to reconcile with Taliban-led insurgents, urged Afghanistan on Friday to shake off outside "coercion", while at the same time seeking to boost India's waning influence. Singh's strong words to a session of the Afghan parliament come at the end of a two-day visit to Kabul aimed at renewing Indian ties with Afghanistan, where New Delhi has been jockeying for influence to counter historical rival Pakistan.
"It is up to you, as the peoples' representatives, to make decisions about your country's future without outside interference or coercion," Singh told the session, attended by Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Pakistan, which has gone to war with India three times since 1947, has been vying for a central role in a negotiated settlement in its neighbour Afghanistan's affairs.
Kabul and Islamabad last month agreed to give Pakistan's security establishment a formal role in any peace talks. In moves likely to irritate Pakistan, Singh earlier pledged $500 million for development projects in Afghanistan, taking what he said was the total amount of Indian aid over the next two years to $2 billion.
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