India, Afghanistan call for end to all support of militants
Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani shaking hands during with Indian Prime Miniser Narendra Modi in Kabul.
AP, New Delhi :
India and Afghanistan on Wednesday called for an end to all sponsorship, support and sanctuaries to militants, including those who have committed violence in the two countries.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani did not name Pakistan in their remarks, though they have previously. The neighboring country has been accused of supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan and rebels in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
India offered a fresh $1 billion in aid to Afghanistan for building capacity in education, health, agriculture, energy and infrastructure, said a joint statement by the two sides. They also signed an extradition treaty.
Kabul has cultivated closer ties with New Delhi in recent years as a balance to Pakistan. Ghani arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday for a two-day visit.
Modi and Ghani also reaffirmed their resolve to strengthen their security and defense cooperation, but did not give any details. India already has donated three multirole Mi-35 helicopters to Afghanistan. The two sides also stressed that fast implementation of an agreement among Afghanistan, India and Iran to develop the Chabahar port in Iran would increase connectivity within the region.
India said in May it would invest up to $500 million to develop the Iranian port, which India plans to use for trade with Afghanistan in the absence of a land route through Pakistan.
Meanwhile, former Afghan President Hamid Karzai has sharply criticized new authorities giving the U.S. military greater freedom to fight Taliban insurgents, saying they were a further erosion of the country’s sovereignty.
In an interview, Karzai, who continues to exert considerable behind-the-scenes influence on Afghan politics, also called on the Islamist militant movement to be more realistic in demands that have hampered progress in peace talks.
His comments on American involvement in the war were at odds with the government of his successor, President Ashraf Ghani, which has welcomed U.S. political and military support
India and Afghanistan on Wednesday called for an end to all sponsorship, support and sanctuaries to militants, including those who have committed violence in the two countries.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani did not name Pakistan in their remarks, though they have previously. The neighboring country has been accused of supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan and rebels in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
India offered a fresh $1 billion in aid to Afghanistan for building capacity in education, health, agriculture, energy and infrastructure, said a joint statement by the two sides. They also signed an extradition treaty.
Kabul has cultivated closer ties with New Delhi in recent years as a balance to Pakistan. Ghani arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday for a two-day visit.
Modi and Ghani also reaffirmed their resolve to strengthen their security and defense cooperation, but did not give any details. India already has donated three multirole Mi-35 helicopters to Afghanistan. The two sides also stressed that fast implementation of an agreement among Afghanistan, India and Iran to develop the Chabahar port in Iran would increase connectivity within the region.
India said in May it would invest up to $500 million to develop the Iranian port, which India plans to use for trade with Afghanistan in the absence of a land route through Pakistan.
Meanwhile, former Afghan President Hamid Karzai has sharply criticized new authorities giving the U.S. military greater freedom to fight Taliban insurgents, saying they were a further erosion of the country’s sovereignty.
In an interview, Karzai, who continues to exert considerable behind-the-scenes influence on Afghan politics, also called on the Islamist militant movement to be more realistic in demands that have hampered progress in peace talks.
His comments on American involvement in the war were at odds with the government of his successor, President Ashraf Ghani, which has welcomed U.S. political and military support
