India must fight Islamic State in Afghanistan: Donald Trump

Washington : The US President on Wednesday suggested that countries like India, Russia, Turkey, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Pakistan need to fight against Islamic State in Afghanistan.

“India is right there, they are not fighting it, we are fighting it,” Trump told reporters, answering a question about US plans to keep its troops in Afghanistan or withdraw them as regards the ongoing peace talks. “Pakistan is right next door. They are fighting it, very little, very, very little.”

“Not fair,” he added.

Well, it is interesting to know that Donald Trump is making a significant shift in his American strategy that envisaged a role for India only in reconstruction and development works in Afghanistan.

It was not expected to — nor does it want to — participate in combat operations, in counter-terrorism operations.

Islamic State has been rooted out from Syria and Iraq, while it is expanding its foot in Afghanistan where it killed around 63 people in a suicide bombing attack.

The US president, who is keen to end the war, said the US has been fighting that war for a long time and it does not want to spend another 19 years — he may have meant 18, which the is the duration of us US troops presence there starting September 2001 — and other countries need to step up and contribute.