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  • All out support to Kabul: Delhi

    All out support to Kabul: Delhi


    By Iftikhar Gilani

    NEW DELHI: India offered complete support to Afghanistan on Friday including strengthening her security capabilities, effectively dealing with the “newly-emerging threat” from Taliban and funding developmental projects worth US$50 million in the war-ravaged country.

    Briefing reporters on Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s visit to Kabul on Sunday, Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran said New Delhi was keen to develop trade with Afghanistan and expand reconstruction work in the country. Singh, who will be the first prime minister to visit Afghanistan in 29 years, will hold talks with President Hamid Karzai and other leaders. He is also accompanied by Rahul Gandhi, son of Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

    “We want Afghanistan to emerge as a democratic, independent, sovereign country in full mastery of its own destiny,” Saran said. “It is in our interest to ensure that Afghanistan does not once again become a kind of a centre of extremism or terrorism. Anything that threatens Afghanistan’s stability is a matter of concern for us,” he said.

    The Indian foreign secretary claimed that Taliban fighters were operating from Pakistan. “Insurgents are coming in from Pakistan and indulging in violent acts in Afghanistan,” he said. “We have offered our full support to Afghanistan in dealing with this newly-emerging threat to their political stability.”

    The prime minister during his two-day tour will announce developmental projects worth US $50 million, along with expansion of ongoing programmes and scholarships to take assistance to a higher level, Saran said. India is already funding reconstruction projects worth US $500 million, and is keen to help Afghanistan in development of its economy, infrastructure and human resource, the foreign secretary said.

    Referring to cooperation with Afghanistan in security, Saran said India had already trained 800 Afghans in policing besides supplying 300 vehicles for use by its army.
    http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...7-8-2005_pg7_7
    It is a good thing that all out support is being given by India to put Afghanistan back on its feet tha was devastated by the obscurantist and decadent Islamofascist Taleban.

    To show solidarity with the Afghan people and to feel the environment first hand, Manmohan Singh, the Indian Prime Minister is going to be the first leader of any nation to stay overnight at the capital of Afghanistan.

    He does show guts to do so but then Sikhs are brave!


    "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

    I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

    HAKUNA MATATA

  • #2
    Originally posted by Ray
    It is a good thing that all out support is being given by India to put Afghanistan back on its feet tha was devastated by the obscurantist and decadent Islamofascist Taleban.

    To show solidarity with the Afghan people and to feel the environment first hand, Manmohan Singh, the Indian Prime Minister is going to be the first leader of any nation to stay overnight at the capital of Afghanistan.

    He does show guts to do so but then Sikhs are brave!
    Sikhs are brave....

    Its time to develop new partnerships, we need our own sea of pearls in CAR and Afghanistan

    Josh

    Comment


    • #3
      Good for India and Afghanistan. Maybe good for Pakistan as well.

      Comment


      • #4
        I wish it were good for all.

        Dialogue progressing well: Pakistan hurdle in Indian help to Kabul: Saran
        http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...7-8-2005_pg1_4
        By Iftikhar Gilani

        NEW DELHI: India claimed on Friday that its efforts to help rebuild Afghanistan were being hampered by Pakistan, which had refused to allow transit facilities to Indian goods. Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran said India was having to make huge investments to seek alternative routes to Afghanistan and Central Asia through Iran.

        Saran said it would be in Pakistan’s interest to permit transit facilities. “It will be a win-win situation for both India and Pakistan and also for Central Asia, Afghanistan and the Gulf,” he said.

        APP adds: Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran said that the composite dialogue between India and Pakistan had yielded “noticeable progress” and it should be carried forward to address the issues between the two countries. The composite dialogue had been quite useful and there has been noticeable progress in some areas, Saran said at a press briefing at Shastari Bhavan in the run up to the Indo-Pak foreign secretary talks to be held in Islamabad next week.
        I am sure things will work out.


        "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

        I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

        HAKUNA MATATA

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Ray
          I wish it were good for all.



          I am sure things will work out.
          Call me a right wing secular extermist.

          But i prefer my country being a super power. Some airbases in afghanistan against Pakistan could work wonders.

          Comment


          • #6
            I am sure things will work out.
            Do you really believe that sir.
            It is definitely not in the interest of pakistan to let Indo-Afgan relations flower. Afterall Afghanistan is pakistan's backyard....
            Seek Save Serve Medic

            Comment


            • #7
              No harm being an optimist.

              The reality of the geostrategic equation of this area, especially from the Pakistani point of view, should indicate otherwise.

              There is no doubt that Afghanistan is a huge input for Pakistani geo strategic requirements and therefore it is obvious that they wouldn't take it kindly.


              "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

              I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

              HAKUNA MATATA

              Comment


              • #8
                Sir, I beg to differ.
                As long as hawkish morons like Hamid Gul are alive Indo-Afgan relations can probably never go beyond sending food and medicine. I mean these people were willing to wreck Afganistan in the name of Strategic Depth and Musharaff was one of the proponents of this. An Afganistan which is India's friend will be viewed as pakistan's enemy.
                IHMO as long as as Karzai is in power, things might gradually stabilize as the Americans will be around. Further if the Americans want the pipeline through Afganistan, they will definitely ensure that things stabilize before financial commitment...
                Seek Save Serve Medic

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by 667medic
                  Sir, I beg to differ.
                  As long as hawkish morons like Hamid Gul are alive Indo-Afgan relations can probably never go beyond sending food and medicine. I mean these people were willing to wreck Afganistan in the name of Strategic Depth and Musharaff was one of the proponents of this. An Afganistan which is India's friend will be viewed as pakistan's enemy.
                  IHMO as long as as Karzai is in power, things might gradually stabilize as the Americans will be around. Further if the Americans want the pipeline through Afganistan, they will definitely ensure that things stabilize before financial commitment...

                  Undersea pipleline, avoid pakistan at any cost. Our longterm energy security is far more important than Short term High capital expenditure,

                  Josh

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    India to offer $50m aid for Afghanistan

                    URL: http://www.india-defence.com/reports/244
                    Date: 27/8/2005

                    Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, carrying offers of fresh aid and seeking to blunt rival Pakistan's influence in Afghanistan, heads tomorrow to Kabul for the first visit by an Indian premier in 29 years, officials and analysts said.

                    Singh will also be trying to gain sway with ethnic groups, especially Pashtuns, contesting September's landmark parliamentary elections which remnants of the ousted hardline Taleban Islamist regime have vowed to disrupt, they said.

                    India, one of the six top donors to Afghanistan, has pledged S500m in aid to Kabul since 2002 and Singh would unveil fresh assistance of $50m during the visit, Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran announced Friday.

                    "The prime minister will announce fresh assistance to the reconstruction of Afghanistan which will take our already extensive developmental assistance to that country to a new level," Saran said.

                    "The fresh assistance would be on small developmental projects benefitting grassroot levels and this would help in the reconstruction of the country," he told a press conference.

                    "Although we are involved in major projects in the infrastructure sector we felt the time has come to shift focus to the local community level."

                    Saran also said Delhi was helping in the modernisation of the Afghan army and police and has trained 800 personnel including diplomats since 2003, but lashed out at Pakistan for not granting transit rights to Indian aid for landlocked Afghanistan.

                    "This will continue to be a constraint in our effort to assist Afghanistan but we are working on the improvement of the infrastructure through Iran," he said.

                    Saran said India had close ties with India-educated Afghan President Hamid Karzai even before he took over the reins in December 2001 and stressed the war-ravaged nation's recovery was of political and strategic interest to India.

                    "India wants Afghanistan to emerge as a democratic, independent, sovereign country fully in control of its own destiny and we believe the relationship with India will contribute to that," he said.

                    Singh's two-day visit will be the first by an Indian head of government to Afghanistan since 1976 when then premier Indira Gandhi flew to Kabul. During the trip former Afghan king Zahir Shah will flag off an India-aided project to build a new parliament building.

                    Expert Ramakant Dwidevi of the military-funded Indian Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis said Singh would also try to woo the dominant ethnic group the Pasthuns during his visit.

                    "It is vital for India to make in-roads among the Pashtuns if it wants to enhance its presence and blunt Pakistan's influence in Afghanistan," Dwidevi said.

                    "The Taleban is mainly spawned from the Pashtuns who are closest to Pakistan and it would be a diplomatic coup for India if it wins over this community. That will rob Islamabad of whatever influence it still has over the extremist forces in Afghanistan," he said.

                    Foreign secretary Saran said India would offer all help to crush remnants of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

                    "The stability of Afghanistan and its economic recovery continues to be hampered by Taleban elements and these elements have to be kept under control.

                    "We have offered our full support in dealing with this newly-emerging threat to their political stability."

                    India enjoyed cosy ties with most Afghan groups but these were jolted in 1979 when it refused to oppose the invasion of Afghanistan by its Cold War ally the Soviet Union, sparking a bloody conflict which ended after Moscow pulled back its forces in 1989.

                    However, New Delhi regained part of the goodwill by backing the Northern Alliance which helped overthrow the Pakistan-supported Taliban in November 2001 and since then has been a key regional backer of Karzai.
                    I rant, therefore I am.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Nice to see India working to bring Afghanistan back on its feet.

                      The obstructionist forces who once supported the Taliban continue to be irritating bottlenecks.

                      Hamid Karzai speaks Hindi more fluently than me. :)

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Grew up and educated in India Karthik ;)
                        I rant, therefore I am.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          India offers help to Afghanistan in dealing with terrorism

                          URL: http://www.india-defence.com/reports/251
                          Date: 28/8/2005

                          Kabul, Aug. 28 (PTI): India today offered all possible assistance to Afghanistan in effectively dealing with terrorism and rebuilding the war-ravaged country.

                          "We have discussed terrorist threat worldwide as also in Afghanistan and in India. There is convergence of views that terrorism poses a threat anywhere and everywhere and we have to deal together," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, said at a joint press conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai after their one-to-one and delegation-level talks here.

                          Singh, who is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Kabul in 29 years, the last being Indira Gandhi in 1976, said "it is for the Government and people of Afghanistan to indicate what type of assistance they want. We are ready to give it."

                          On the regrouping of Taliban in Afghanistan, Karzai asserted that terrorist activities would not deter people from participating in the upcoming Parliamentary elections.

                          "Terrorism had come to Afghanistan three-and-a-half years ago. With the help of the international community and the people of Afghanistan, it was defeated and thrown out...but we see continuation of such activities and we feel very sad about it."

                          The Prime Minister stressed the need for joint efforts to tackle the menace of terrorism, which he said, "poses a serious threat to civilised existence. So we have an obligation to work together."

                          Observing that Afghanistan was moving forward to more peace and stability, Karzai said it still faced "occasions of terrorist activity."

                          He said Afghanistan was negotiating with "brothers in Pakistan. There has been cooperation with Pakistan in the anti-terrorist drive, which is thriving very well."

                          "All of us-- India, Pakistan and Afghanistan -- need to join hands to fight this global menace," Karzai said.

                          Asked what kind of cooperation India was offering to Afghanistan in combating terrorism, the Prime Minister said "this is an ongoing process. There are several dimensions. We have to strengthen the economy and see that the democratic process moves forward smoothly."Asked which of the two proposed gas pipelines to India -- Iran-Pakistan or Turkmenistan-Afghanistan route-- would be chosen, the Prime Minister said it was not a question of preference.

                          "India's needs for commercial energy are increasing at an explosive rate. Our economy is now growing at a rate of seven to eight per cent per annum. There is an enormous unmet demand for commercial energy which is going to increase.

                          "So, we need both the pipelines from Iran and Pakistan and Turmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan. So, it is not a question and or," Singh said.

                          Karzai said Afghanistan was "very keen" on participating in SAARC "so as to contribute to it and benefit from it".

                          The Afghan leader said he had raised this issue with Singh during the talks and "was very glad to receive an affirmative and positive response" and added that he had got a similar "positive response" from Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf earlier.

                          "So Afghanistan is keen on SAARC, and to be a contributor as also a receiver in that organisation," he said.

                          Asked if India, Pakistan and Afghanistan could work together for development of the region, Singh said "I pledge myself to work whole-heartedly with President Karzai and for that matter with President Musharraf and other like-minded persons to realise a grand vision."

                          The Prime Minister said he was "very much hopeful" that all countries of the region will have the "will, vision and wisdom to realise a common shared destiny of the people" of this region.

                          "I mentioned to President Karzai the enormous possibility of cooperation to ensure that poverty, illness and disease do not have to be the inevitable lot of a majority of people of this region," Singh said.

                          Karzai said Afghanistan was very happy to see a dialogue for better relation between India and Pakistan and noted that Afghanistan was directly affected by this friendship between the two countries as it is a member of the committee of nations in this part of the world.

                          He said the three countries jointly can have a "massive impact" on the economy of this region and also worldwide. On military-to-military contacts with India, Karzai said "the rebuilding of Afghanistan is an international exercise. The rebuilding is in all walks of life. There is already a contribution by India through the League Nations structure -- which is the United States and the coalition forces to the military in Afghanistan."

                          In the context of international co-operation with Afghanistan, "any assistance is welcome from India, from Pakistan and from other countries around us," he said.

                          The Prime Minister said, "it is for the government and people of Afghanistan to recommend the type of assistance they need from India and as far as our country is concerned, we are quite willing to extend whatever assistance, and the people of Afghanistan may consider it in our mutual interest.

                          Karzai said he believed that as human beings "we have no other destiny but prosperity and peace" and drew a comparison between "our region and other regions" asking whether people in "this part of the world" lacked anything in terms of capabilities.

                          The Afghan President further said he was of the opinion that "we in this region must begin to present a future different from the present to the generations that will come and that can only come by having a vision grander than what we sometimes see...A vision for mankind and for all people in this region".

                          Observing that this was "very much possible", Karzai welcomed the ongoing dialogue between India and Pakistan and pointed out that Afghanistan was affected "both ways".

                          Asked if he had talked to Musharraf on opening the land route to facilitate transport between Afghanistan and India through Pakistan, Karzai said the improvement of relations between India and Pakistan "is such a necessity for the people of this whole region that overtakes every other consideration.

                          "We hope that with this improvement--transit from India, Pakistan and Afghanistan--and beyond and from Afghanistan to Pakistan and India becomes a reality," he said.

                          Maintaining that Kabul has held discussions with New Delhi and Islamabad, the Afghan leader said as peace talks progressed, "this vision of ours will become a reality, not only for generations of today but more so for generations that will follow us".
                          I rant, therefore I am.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Karzai was educated in Simla or Shimla if I remember correctly.


                            "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

                            I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

                            HAKUNA MATATA

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Well we need to keep the momentum going.
                              And also what wud US think?

                              Wud they be glad to see India forging strong ties with Afghan,much to the dislike of their ally pakistan.
                              What's the difference between people who pray in church and those who pray in casinos?
                              The ones in the casinos are serious.

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