Old story, but it gives a good reason for the consulates and the aid India is providing to the afghanies.
Afghanistan : Karzais two visitors - Sinha and Khatami
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai played host to two foreign leaders, Indias External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, and President Mohammed Khatami of Iran. Both India and Iran have strong stakes in peace and stability in Afghanistan, and what is more, both have the reputation of being close to Northern Alliance, which is a strong component in the Pashtoon-led Hamid Karzai Government. Both have suffered grievously from the spread of terrorism by the fallen Taliban regime and are now engaged in helping Afghanistan economically along with other countries across the world to ensure that the terrorism does not raise its head again.
Yashwant Sinha ended his three-day visit with short trips to Mazar-e-Sharief, Herat and Kandahar, the three important provinces. In Herat, he had a breakfast meeting with the Governor and a prominent warlord, Ismail Khan, then had lunch in Mazar-e-Sharif with Gen. Dostum before flying to Kandahar to meet Provincial Governor Gul Agha on Aug 12. Kandahar is the place where an Indian Airlines plane flying from Nepal was hijacked in December 1999 by Pakistan-backed terrorists and the then Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh flew to the city along with the three terrorists in Indian jail to hand them over to the hijackers to win the release of the passengers.
In Kabul, Sinha who was on his first official visit to the war-ravaged country after assuming office, was received with exceptional warmth by the Afghan leaders. There was appreciation for Indias past and continuing cooperation and also for its quick implementation of cooperation programmes since November 2001.
Sinha, who gifted one of the three planes India has promised to donate to the Afghanistan Airlines Ariana, inaugurated the Indian Consulates in Mazar-e-Sharif and Herat on Aug 11. New Delhi, which opened its embassy in Kabul in December, plans to open a consulate in Kandahar also in the near future in its bid to convey to Kabul that India has no favourites in the war-torn country and wants good relations with all. My visits to these regions reflected our continuing contacts and cooperation with all sections of Afghan society and our support for a strong, united, independent and sovereign Afghanistan, Sinha said following his return to New Delhi on Aug 12.
Sinha, who during his visit to Kabul had met former King Zahir Shah, President Karzai and Vice President Arsala, also held talks with his Panjsheri friends in the Government including Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, Defence Minister Mohammed Fahim and Education Minister Qanooni. Sinha disclosed that India has earmarked $4 million for renovation of the Indira Gandhi Hospital in Kabul and upgrade its equipment and supply medicines. New Delhi has decided to send Indian doctors to Afghanistan on deputation and train Afghan doctors in premier Indian medical institutions. Seven Afghan doctors are expected to arrive soon for training at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. India is also training in batches 150 Afghanistan Police officers in its police academies. India has also earmarked $1 million for upgrading of laboratories and the establishment of an information technology centre at the Habibia School, which will also be renovated. Sinha carried with him to Kabul three tonnes of vegetable seeds and educational kits for students at the Habibia school.
Indias reconstruction assistance to Afghanistan is meant to ensure that the war-ravaged country does not find itself in a position where it is totally alienated from the rulers in Kabul and other important cities.
For nearly six years under the Taliban regime, Afghanistan had turned into a breeding ground for terrorists, many of whom were dispatched to fight Indian security forces in Kashmir. India is not going to forget this experience in a hurry and its attempt to establish a strong presence in Afghanistan is meant to ensure that forces such as the Taliban do not stage a comeback.
Sinha told newsmen on return that new areas of cooperation have been identified during his talks with Afghan leaders. These include water supply projects, dams, adult education programmes, upgradation of expertise and equipment at hospitals and establishing laboratories for universities.
Sinha warns of Al-Qaeda regrouping
The Al Qaeda cadres, now on the run after the US launched Operation Freedom to nab them, were waiting to regroup in certain parts of Afghanistan, Sinha told newsmen on return from Kabul on Aug 12.
Sinhas fears have been confirmed by a report in the Sunday Telegraph published from London which said on Aug 11 Osama bin Ladens Al Qaeda terrorist network, along with Kashmiri militants and other radical Islamic parties, was planning a big strike in Afghanistan using two of its bases inside Pakistan. It said, a senior bin Laden lieutenant, Ayman Zawahiri, is believed to be directing operations from a new base in Shah Salim, 50 km west of the Pakistan city of Chitral near Kunar. Their other base is said to be in the Pakistani village of Murkushi on the Chinese border. The Afghan intelligence officials said, the Al-Qaeda was preparing to launch a substantial attack on East Afghanistan by crossing the poorly defended highland border of Kunar.
The paper said, the Al-Qaeda and its allies are trying to find anti-aircraft missiles capable of hitting Americas B-52 bombers. Brig. Rahmatullah Rawand, Military Intelligence Chief in Kunar Province said, they might find such missiles in China and then bring them to their bases. China has, however, angrily rejected reports that it had maintained military links with the Al-Qaeda and provided sophisticated weapons like anti-aircraft missiles to the terrorist network.
And in an interview with American magazine Newsweek, a former Taliban official said Osama bin laden escaped from Tora Bora last winter on horseback along with two of his trusted lieutenants when US forces were extensively bombing the mountainous terrain in Afghanistan.
Khatami visit
Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, who paid a one-day visit to Kabul on Aug 13 became the first Iranian Head of State to visit Afghanistan in 40 years. He went to Kabul offering a $500 million aid package for the war-devastated country and seeking stepped up Afghan efforts to block opium production and trafficking by Afghans through and to Iran. The discussions between the two Presidents covered bilateral security issues including cross border movements, drug trafficking and developments in the region.
President Khatami was highly critical of the militarist approach to the foreign policy of the United States which has called Iran a part of the axis of evil, is threatening to attack Iraq again to topple Saddam Hussein and is still pursuing the Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan and Pakistan and is accusing Iran of harbouring them. At a joint press conference with Karzai after their talks on Aug 13, Khatami, referring to the US said: Fighting terrorism should not mean imposing the will of one country unilaterally on other countries of the world. He said, the American administration has a misunderstanding about their own power and their own interests. Since September 11, this administration has taken an angry approach to foreign policy. Rubbishing the US accusation of his country harbouring al-Qaeda terrorists, Khatami said, his Government had been handing over detainees to other countries on the slightest suspicion of Al-Qaeda terrorist involvement. He confirmed that his Government had handed over 16 suspected Al-Qaeda members to Saudi Arabia which, incidentally, has refused to hand them over to the US saying they would be interrogated and tried in the country itself. Responding to Khatamis claim, US Defence Secretary Rumsfeld said, Iran had handed over not a single terrorist to the US.
In spite of the US animosity towards Iran, Afghanistan President Karzai who is heavily dependent on America for the security and economic reconstruction of country, cannot afford to antagonise Iran because of two main factors which determine Teherans influence in Afghanistan. First, Iran has considerable influence over Afghanistans ethnic Hazara community. That meant its influence can be felt in large portions of central and northern Afghanistan where the Hazaras are in strength. Irans clout will come into play even more prominently if major oil companies in the world decide to use the Afghan corridor for transiting Central Asian oil and gas to South Asia. These pipelines will have to be built across the Hazara-dominated areas because of the relatively easier terrain there. Iran also has influence in the western Afghan city of Herat where it continues to support the areas leader, Ismail Khan. Second, Iran acquires its influence on account of its geographic location. Iran, for instance, is the only alternative to Pakistan for transiting goods from landlocked Afghanistan to the sea. Iranian ports are linked to Afghanistan to some distance by rail and thereafter by road. Not surprisingly, Afghanistan today acquires a considerable amount of humanitarian relief by road from the Iranian city of Mashad, which is not far away from Herat. Iran is also close to the Panjsheris, the supporters of the late Ahmed Shah Masood who all hail from Afghanistans rugged Panjsher valley. The Panjsheris who are mostly ethnic Tajiks, play a major role in post-Taliban Afghanistans security, foreign and interior ministries. By maintaining influence over the Panjshers, Iran is in a fairly good position to smoothen its relations with the ethnic Pashtun elements in the Afghan establishment, represented by Karzai.
Afghanistan : Karzais two visitors - Sinha and Khatami,Indian Subcontinent, News Analysis, India News Online
