The Hindu : Kidnapping focusses on danger to Indian nationals

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Dec 11, 2003

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Kidnapping focusses on danger to Indian nationals

By Our Diplomatic Correspondent

NEW DELHI DEC. 10. The kidnapping of two Indians working on a road project in Afghanistan has focussed attention on the dangers associated with the high-profile role being played by India in reconstruction efforts in the embattled nation.

The Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan, Vivek Katju, told this correspondent by telephone from Kabul today that about 700-800 Indian nationals were now working in Afghanistan.

Most of them were working for private companies in semi-skilled capacities. There were engineers and doctors working in different capacities as well, he said.

Several Indian companies are engaged in road construction. A team of 13 Indian doctors are working in Kabul since November 2001, while others are working in the cities of Mazar-i-Sharif and Herat as well.

Since the military action to dislodge the Taliban and the Al-Qaeda from Kabul and adjoining areas took place after September 2001, India has played an active role in Afghanistan. It was one of the first countries to pledge a sizeable amount of $100 million for reconstruction efforts.

Apart from announcing that India will deliver one million tonnes of wheat, India also sent to Afghanistan 274 buses, gifted three Airbus aircraft to the national Ariana Afghan Airlines and pledged $70 million to build the Zaranj-Dilaram road in Afghanistan.

"The kidnapping of the two Indians is a signal to India from the Taliban and the pro-Pakistan lobby," the former Indian Special Envoy on Afghanistan, S.K. Lambah, said this evening. "They want to discourage our people from going and working in Afghanistan. They also want to convey to the rest of the world that Indians cannot function in Afghanistan," he maintained.

Other analysts believe that the Pakistani Government, which felt that a control over Afghanistan offered it "strategic depth", is perturbed by the growing Indian role in Afghanistan.

The Hamid Karzai Government, which permitted India to open consulates in Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif, Kandahar and Jalalabad, has repeatedly denied Islamabad's allegations that these consulates are working against Pakistani interests.

In fact, Afghan authorities have been accusing Pakistan of giving assistance to the Taliban, a charge that Islamabad has been at pains to deny. But Ahmed Rashid, a well-known Pakistani commentator on Afghan affairs, recently wrote about Pakistani assistance to the Taliban.

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