Advisory to be Issued for Afghanistan Workers

NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday asserted that its commitment to development partnership with Afghanistan remained undiluted and refuted reports that it planned to scale-down its presence in that country.

External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash dismissed reports that New Delhi was issuing an advisory to its citizens in Afghanistan to return home, saying such reports were baseless and factually incorrect.

“India's commitment to its development partnership with Afghanistan remains undiluted,” he said.

India was extending humanitarian and development aid worth $1.3 billion and there were about 3,500 Indians working in Afghanistan on projects, including infrastructure, education, and construction of buildings such as the Parliament building in Kabul.

Of them, almost 2,500 were in secure zones and the government had taken up the issue of security for the rest.

At the same time, it had advised those working in the private sector to alter the pattern of movement and consider plans to train Afghan nationals in India, who in turn, train other personnel for deployment in projects there.

Medical missions

After the February 26 terror attack in Kabul, which claimed the lives of nine people, including three Army officers, India announced temporary suspension of its medical mission in the Afghanistan capital. Four others in Kandahar, Jalalabad, Mazar-e-Sharif and Herat continue to function.

India's commitment to stay the course in Afghanistan was reiterated during the visit of National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon to Kabul last weekend.

On his part, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai assured all assistance and security to Indian nationals.