Quiet trip to Afghanistan

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New Delhi, Jan. 15: The chief of India’s military intelligence outfit quietly visited Afghanistan last week for briefings from Afghan, US and Nato officials.

The US President’s special envoy on Afghanistan-Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, is also slated to visit Delhi for three days from Sunday.

Holbrooke, who is currently in Pakistan, is scheduled to leave on Tuesday when US defence secretary Robert Gates is slated to visit India.

Lt Gen. R.K. Loomba, the director general of military intelligence (DGMI), visited the headquarters of the Afghan National Army (ANA) in Kabul last week. He also met officials of Nato’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

A senior army source told The Telegraph the DGMI was assessing preparations of the Afghan National Army in the wake of the US announcing a surge-and-exit policy through this year. Washington has a timetable for withdrawal of its troops from 2011.

Indian military sources assess that the pullout would be gradual and Afghan National Army units would be asked to take over charge of areas sector by sector. India is involved in training ANA officers in India but quiet proposals have been floated for the deployment of Indian instructors in Afghanistan for the Afghan army.

The army chief, Gen. Deepak Kapoor, said the commitment to Afghanistan would continue as soft support. Indian Army instructors have also been involved in teaching English to ANA officers.

Lt Gen. Loomba’s visit to Afghanistan was a month after the chief of the US Pacific Command, Adm. Robert Willard, visited New Delhi for discussions on security assessments in South Asia. He had said India has to decide if it wanted to expand its role in Afghanistan.

Holbrooke is likely to meet foreign minister S.M. Krishna, foreign secretary Nirupama Rao and the national security adviser on Monday.

Holbrooke’s likely brief is to assess India’s position ahead of the London Conference on Afghanistan (January 28-February 1).

The conference will be co-hosted by UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon.

Brown had said the objective of the conference was to “drive forward our campaign in Afghanistan, to match the increase in military forces with an increased political momentum, to focus the international community on a clear set of priorities across the 43-nation coalition and marshal the maximum international effort to help the Afghan government deliver”.

Source : The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Frontpage | Quiet trip to Afghanistan .

 

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we like to see Afghanistan terror free a healthy democracy and will provide the help which they need

there should be peace and progress