No scaling down Indian assistance to Afghanistan

By Naveen Kapoor, New Delhi, Mar 19: Despite increased threat perception in the wake of recent terror attack on the Indian medical mission in Kabul, New Delhi has no plans to scale down its developmental projects in Afghanistan.

According to sources, India is regularly reviewing the security arrangements for more than 3500 Indian nationals living in Afghanistan, majority of whom are working for the private firms and are vulnerable to terrorist attacks.

India is working in close touch with the Afghanistan Government and New Delhi is appreciative of the assistance provided by Kabul in providing security for Indians working in Afghanistan, the sources added.

Sources believe that India has a symbiotic link with the war- torn country. The developmental projects have assisted Afghans in strengthening infrastructure and has been appreciated by the international community.

These developmental projects, big and small, have made India popular among the people of Afghanistan including the Pashtun-dominated areas of South and East Afghanistan. Recent surveys conducted by international agencies indicate that more than 70 percent Afghans regard India as a friend.

According to an estimate, Indian Medical missions in Afghanistan last year treated 310,000 patients mainly women and children. They also provided free medicines and performed surgical operations in Kabul, Kandahar, Jalalabad , Mazhar-e-Sharif and other remote corners of Afghanistan.

Strategists believe the work done by Indian teams have made them popular among the people. This has caused discomfort to elements in Pakistan, who have been nursing ambitions to create a strategic depth in Afghanistan, and that is believed to be one of the reasons why Indians in Afghanistan are constantly targeted.

Sources here have also discarded the speculation that NATO and US have asked India to scale down its development activities; on the contrary, they have appreciated Indian efforts and many countries like Italy, Japan, Czechoslovakia are showing keen interest in joining Indian endeavors.

India is currently engaged in two massive infrastructure projects like Salma Dam in Herat and building the Parliament house in Kabul, after completing two big projects like Zeranj Delaram road and Power transmission line in Kabul.