What happened in Kabul on 7 July 2008?

The ramming and subsequent explosion of a suicide bomb-laden car at the gate of the Indian embassy in Kabul killed 41 people and left more than 140 wounded on Monday, 7 July. This constitutes a major attack on an Indian diplomatic mission and the deadliest suicide car bombing in Afghanistan since the American-led invasion began in 2001. Amongst the dead, four were Indian nationals, including India's defense attach Brigadier Ravi Mehta, diplomat V. Venkateswara Rao, and two Indo-Tibetan border police personnel. The senior officials died upon impact as their vehicles were entering the embassy's gates.

Why target the Indian embassy in Afghanistan?

Recent attacks on Indian nationals in Afghanistan have multiple similar characteristics that establish a common trend between them. Indian engineers working in public reconstruction projects have often been targeted by suicide bombers. In two recent attacks, a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) engineer was killed when his convoy was ambushed by a suicide bomber on 3 January 2008 while on 12 April, a suicide bomber killed three road engineers that were a part of a BRO team. Expectedly both of these attacks happened in the province of Nimroz where the teams of engineers were working on important road projects.

The motivations that led to these attacks can be traced back to November 2005 when M. Kutty, a BRO driver, was killed after the organization refused to leave Afghanistan as demanded by Taliban insurgents. Subsequently, Indian communications engineer K. Suryanarayana was beheaded after a similar warning in April 2006. Taliban insurgents from the southern province of Zabul, had demanded that all Indian nationals and companies leave Afghanistan in exchange for the release of the engineer.

Despite these multiple attacks, the Indian government has reiterated its commitment in Afghanistan, especially in the reconstruction process. Taliban leaders fear that the persistence of Indians in the reconstruction effort, in addition to their reluctance to exit may win over the minds of the Afghanis and persuade them to support Karzai's government. This would debilitate the insurgent base thereby alienating the insurgent leadership from the masses. The 7 July attack is a product of the insurgents' fear and a reiteration of the effects that reconstruction has in Afghanistan. Insurgents have shifted from targeting road engineers to targeting high-level officials of the embassy in an effort to coerce Indian authorities into declining future reconstruction projects.

Who are the suspects in this attack?

Afghan President Hamid Karzai in his statement condemning the attack had blamed militants seeking to disrupt the growing Indo-Afghan relations. His Interior Minister was more specific and implicitly blamed the intelligence services of Pakistan. While, the most prominent suspect continues to be the Taliban which has seen a steady resurgence, a spokesperson for the group had denied any responsibility of the group for the attack on the embassy. According to Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid, "Whenever we do a suicide attack, we confirm it. The Taliban did not do this one." However, the Taliban have not taken responsibility for attacks in the past which have had significant civilian casualties and this could be another example of the same.

According to Pakistani political analyst, Ikram Sehgal, the attack was not carried out by the Pakistani intelligence or the Taliban, but was the handiwork of Pashtun clan members who have actively opposed Indian operations in the border region, where their tribes dominate.

The attack owing to its nature and precision in targeting top-ranking embassy officials and the extensive damage it caused has however, the hallmarks of a logistically well-supplied group such as the Taliban in Afghanistan, or its allied groups such as al Qaeda.

What are the implications for the reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan?

Pakistan has been highly critical of the Indian role in Afghanistan and has made its displeasure evident by means such as denying overland facilities to Indian goods destined for Afghanistan. This attack which is suspected to be carried out by Pakistani-backed elements is another step in their efforts to thwart a growing Indian influence in Afghanistan. However, India's best interests would be served by a continued commitment to Afghanistan.

India cannot walk away from Afghanistan, because its own security is dependent upon the success of the Afghan reconstruction effort. This was reflected in the statement by the Indian External Affairs Minister when he declared that, "Such acts of terror will not deter us from fulfilling our commitments to the government and people of Afghanistan."

India needs to actively monitor and upgrade the security available to its projects in Afghanistan, particularly in the face of growing threats. The embassy for example, would have constituted a prime target and from available information, the embassy should have taken more proactive measures in order to defend its employees and premises. Furthermore, the Afghanistan government must take immediate measures to stem the growing violence within the capital region (the latest attack being the sixth this year), in order to prevent the notion that Afghanistan is moving towards an insecure future.