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July 7, 2008
Kabul Attack Throws Light on Afghan Power Game
By Manish Chand
New Delhi
The deadly terror attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul Monday has
put the spotlight on India's strategic stake in Afghanistan, with
two leading analysts hinting at a Pakistani hand.
Two Indian diplomats and two security personnel were among the 44
people killed when a suicide bomber rammed his car into the gate of
the embassy. It was the worst attack on any Indian mission in the
world.
"There has been a consistent policy of targeting Indians and Indian
projects in Afghanistan. It's no doubt a decision taken by the
Taliban. Pakistan is directly or indirectly complicit in the
attack," G. Parthasarathy, a former Indian envoy to Pakistan, told
IANS.
"They (Pakistan) have lost their privileged position in Afghanistan
after 9/11. They are worried about increasing Indian influence in
Kabul," he stressed.
Ajai Sahni, an expert on terrorism, also felt that the terror attack
was "a message from Pakistan to put pressure on Indians and Indian
projects in Afghanistan.
"This is quite evident that in the last three years, Border Roads
Organisation (BRO) workers engaged in constructing Zaranj-Delaram
road, which will reduce Afghanistan's dependence on Pakistan, were
targeted and some of them were also killed," Sahni said.
Unlike the 2005 kidnapping of an Indian engineer in 2005, when the
government blamed the Taliban and its "backers", a veiled reference
to Pakistan, New Delhi has not blamed anyone for Monday's bloodshed.
But one government source told IANS that he felt that the Taliban
might be acting at the behest of Pakistan's Inter-Services
Intelligence (ISI).
"The pattern of the bombing and the manner of its execution shows it
is the handiwork of the Taliban. But we have to wait," the source
said as an Indian team left for Kabul on a fact-finding mission.
Afghanistan, which has forged close links with India following the
2001 ouster of the Pakistan-backed Taliban regime, blamed "enemies"
of Kabul and New Delhi for the mayhem.
President Hamid Karzai said that "enemies" jealous of the strong
friendship between Afghanistan and India were to blame. An Afghan
interior ministry official echoed this.
Parthasarthy added: "The Indian image is very good in Afghanistan as
Indians are involved with educational and other socio-economic
projects in that country."
Sahni said: "Pakistan has a vested interest in fomenting violence
and in keeping Afghanistan weak and unstable."
When the Taliban were in power, Pakistan viewed Afghanistan as its
strategic depth vis-à-vis India. Once the Taliban got ousted,
India's decision to open consulates in Herat, Kandahar, Jalalabad
and Mazaar-e-Sharif were hotly contested by Pakistan, which alleged
that they were nothing but "listening posts".
And as India has continued to assist Kabul in reconstruction
efforts, even while the Taliban regrouped in Pakistan's border
areas, attacks have been stepped up on Indian projects and interests
in Afghanistan.
India has pledged $850 million to Afghanistan for projects ranging
from roads and bridges to power stations. Over 2,000 Indians are
involved in these projects.
On Monday, the Indian government quickly announced that its
commitment to rebuild Afghanistan was "unshaken".
IANS
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July 7, 2008
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