Seeking to assuage India's strong concerns, Afghan President Hamid Karzai today assured Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that his government is committed to providing full security to Indians in the war-ravaged country.
Meeting Karzai for the first time after the February 26 terror attack in Kabul in which nine Indians were killed, Singh affirmed that India remains committed to assisting the government and people of Afghanistan in their efforts towards the reconstruction and development of that country.
The two leaders discussed the issue of terrorism which threatens the region. "President Karzai assured me that the government of Afghanistan will take all possible measures for the security of Indians in Afghanistan," Singh said after his wide-ranging discussions with the Afghan leader.
"We were of the view that the attacks of February 26, 2010, in Kabul were the handiwork of those who do not wish to see the emergence of a strong, independent and pluralistic Afghanistan," he said. Terrorists struck on February 26 at two hotels in Kabul, which were home to Indians engaged in developmental projects, killing nine of them and injuring 10 others.
New Delhi has conveyed its serious concerns over the spate of attacks by Taliban and extremist elements on Indians working for the reconstruction of war-torn Afghanistan. Singh said he had conveyed to Karzai that the perpetrators of such attacks would not succeed in undermining India's commitment to assist the Afghan people.
Thanking the Indian leadership for the sustained assistance, Karzai, who is on a day's visit, said India has shown to be a strong partner of Afghanistan.
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Karzai, who will join Singh at the SAARC summit in Bhutan on April 28-29, said they discussed the situation in Afghanistan and in the region as well as their common struggle with terrorism and extremism.
"We discussed the upcoming Afghanistan Peace Consultations which should comprise people of Afghanistan, those from all walks of life, to advise on how to move forward for reintegration and reconciliation of those elements of Taliban and others who have accepted the Constitution and who are not part of the Al Qaeda or any terrorist network," Karzai said.
The Afghan President said he had requested Singh to send Indian representatives to the follow up of the London conference which would be held in Kabul. Singh said he had an extremely productive discussion with Karzai on a whole range of bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest.
The Prime Minister said he was looking forward to working with Karzai for further enhancing the close cooperation, stressing it was in the interest of the people of the two countries and peace and stability in the region and beyond.
He said India was ready to augment its assistance for capacity building and for skill and human resources development to help strengthen public institutions there.
Karzai said he had thanked the Indian leadership for the assistance in the construction of roads and the expansion of power lines from North to Central Afghanistan. He also expressed gratitude for more than 1,200 scholarships given to Afghan students for studying in India.