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Commandos for Indian workers in Afghanistan
NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 7: A protection force of 100 paramilitary commandos from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) will shortly be deployed in Afghanistan to beef up security for Indians working in the country.
The decision to increase the security apparatus in Afghanistan was taken after the murder of Border Roads Organisation (BRO) driver M R Kutty by suspected Taliban guerrillas in November last year while on duty on the Delaram-Zaranj roadway project.
The BRO had made a fresh threat assessment in conjunction with the Foreign Ministry and made it clear that more security was an immediate need for the highway to be completed on schedule.
South Block sources indicated that the commandos, who will be deployed in phases, will add to an existing contingent of 40 ITBP personnel who were posted in Afghanistan in 2005 on VIP security duty for the Indian Embassy at Kabul. ITBP chief V K Joshi met with Defence Ministry officials today regarding the deployment.
The commandos will provide patrolling and escort security to BRO and other Indian workers working on infrastructure projects in the country. An official at ITBP said an officer would shortly be appointed to oversee the new security apparatus.
The decision to send the paramilitary troops, trained in batches for search and rescue and proximal security operations, came after a representation made by BRO chief Lt Gen K S Rao to the government that security needed to be beefed up for his organisation’s personnel along the highway project that culminates on the Iran border.
Discussions followed in December between South Block and the Hamid Karzai government in Afghanistan, after which it was decided that the Indian security apparatus would be increased. Following Kutty’s death, continued threats to Indian aid workers in the country cemented the UPA government’s decision to go ahead with a force increase.
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