The two Indian workers, P. Murali and G. Vardharai, kidnapped on 9 December 2003, were released by their captors, believed to be either Taliban militia or local armed gangs, on 24 December. The abductors had earlier demanded release of some 50 imprisoned prisoners held by the authorities in the southern Afghan province of Zabul in exchange for the two. The two Indians, a soil sampler and a foreman, were employed on the US-funded $270-million Kandahar-Kabul road project. In another incident unidentified assailants fatally shot an Indian telecommunications engineer, identified by his first name Sanjiv, on 8 November 2003, working for the Afghan Wireless Company. The kidnappings and killing illustrate the dangers to Indians working for the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

India’s continuing contribution goes far beyond the ubiquitous buses on the roads of Kabul. Though it does not share borders with the country, India has long considered Afghanistan to be part of its extended strategic neighbourhood. The events of 11 September 2001 and the subsequent US-led war on terror save the Talibans demise. India was one of the first countries to offer its whole-hearted support to the American-led effort that brought together elements opposed to the Taliban. Prominent among these are the tribal-ethnic factional grouping called the Northern Alliance, led by the legendary Ahmad Shah Masood, largely comprising Uzbeks and Tajiks, among others.

India has been a long-time supporter of the Alliance, providing it with material and logistical support. India has also been running a hospital at Farkhor near the Afghan-Tajik border, where Mr. Masood was first brought after being grievously injured in the suicide attack on his person. The Indira Gandhi Hospital for Women and Children in Kabul; the hundreds of Jaipur feet provided to the victims of landmine blasts; the training of Afghan doctors and nurses, diplomats, and teachers; the provision of scholarships to deserving Afghan students by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR); the nearly 300 buses gifted; the provision of one million tonnes of wheat; the extension of the $ 100 million line-of-credit, of which $ 31.5 million has been utilized in fiscal year 2002-2003; the pledging of $ 70 million for improvement of the 200-km road from Zaranj to Delaram, announced during the visit of President Hamid Karzai to New Delhi between 5-8 March, 2003; the ongoing work to prepare an Indian satellite to broadcast Afghan State television programmes, to be completed by May 2004; India’s participation in the proposed trans-Afghan road and rail link between Termez in Uzbekistan and Chahbahar in Iran, are ample proof of the investments India is making to ensure a more stable Afghanistan, at peace with itself and its neighbours.

India has opened consulates in Herat and Mazhar-e-Sharif in August 2002 and in Kandahar and Jalalabad in December 2002 to co-ordinate its efforts better.. These consulates complement the Embassy at Kabul, currently being headed by Ambassador Vivek Katju. The Embassy was closed on 26 September 1996 after the Taliban took over Kabul.

Pakistan is wary of the Indian diplomatic presence. It strongly believes that the Indian presence abets and promotes activity inimical to Pakistan’s interests. President Musharraf has contended that India’s decision to open these consulates had “nothing to do with the promotion of economic ties”, but intended to “harm Pakistan.” The Afghan Foreign Minister, Abdullah Abdullah, has clarified that the activities of the Indian consulates were “in the limits of their duty as consulates in accordance with international norms and principles.” President Karzai has also assured President Musharraf that Afghan soil would not be allowed to be used against Pakistan.

In spite of these assurances to the contrary, Pakistan still nourishes suspicions of evil intent on India’s part. It accuses India, specifically the RAW (Research and Analysis Wing), of disseminating false currency, and running training camps for Afghans to carry out destructive activities, especially in the tribal areas bordering Pakistan. India rubbishes these allegations and maintains that, as two sovereign countries, India and Afghanistan have full rights to determine the nature and content of their bilateral relationship.

The rise of the New/Neo-Taliban, actively encouraged by the United States, presents another worry to Indian policy makers, who need to factor in the larger geo-political goals of the Unites States, the need to ensure secure conditions for tapping into the Central Asian energy resources to bolster India’s energy security and the necessity of preventing the rise of radical groups/regimes pursuing an extremist ideology, the need to bolster counter-terrorism efforts and prevent drug trafficking. This would help to ensure a stable Afghanistan that can fully contribute to the comity of nations.