A month after the deadly blast in its Kabul mission which was attributed to Pakistani secret service agencies, New Delhi today announced an additional $450 million package for development and reconstruction of the war-ravaged Afghanistan.
In making this announcement after his talks with the visiting Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh sought to send a firm message to Islamabad — that India would continue to pursue its relations with and support Kabul. Though both the leaders did not name Pakistan, Singh termed the attack on Kabul as an “attack on Indo-Afghan friendship.’’
Addressing the media, the two leaders said their talks were being held against the “backdrop of serious threat posed by terrorism to security and stability of Afghanistan, India and the region.”
Karzai said the attack on the Indian mission as well as recent serial bombings in Bangalore and Ahmedabad had posed the same challenges to both India and Afghanistan. “We face the challenge of fighting terrorism and cold-blooded murderous activities,’’ he said.
Today’s package would be in addition to the $750 million pledged by New Delhi for the ongoing development works in the country.
Singh and Karzai are understood to have reviewed the ongoing projects in Afghanistan which are being undertaken with Indian help. Every year, India offers scholarships to 500 Afghan students for studying in technical and engineering colleges here.
Indian workers engaged in road projects in western Afghanistan had recently faced attacks from local insurgents. India’s main project, the Zaranj-Delaram highway, which which connect Iranian ports with landlocked Afghanistan, is nearly complete and will be soon handed over to the Afghan authorities.
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India has also offered to host a meeting of the joint coordination and monitoring bureau, which overseas and coordinates activities of various countries which have pledged funds for reconstruction of Afghanistan.
Karzai, who flew to New Delhi directly from Colombo, where he attended the SAARC summit, also met External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. New Delhi rolled out the red carpet for Karzai as President Pratibha Patil hosted a banquet in his honour.