Indubitably, the bilateral relation between Kabul and Delhi is on a rise. As one of the biggest democracies in the world and with enormous ethnic, cultural and religious heterogeneity, India can be a stunning example for Afghanistan how to bring its own cultural and communal difference under a harmonized umbrella of democracy. Both countries have shared interest in terms of fighting both internal and external terrorism and fundamentalism. Right after the fall of Taliban regime, India started to play a greater role in the country with a new system which is much aligned to its own values. NGOs recruited huge number of individuals and Indian private companies have already made investment or showed interest to do so.
On Saturday, Feb. 15, Indian Foreign Affairs Minister, Salman Khurshid, paid a visit to Afghanistan in order to inaugurate the National University of Agriculture Science and Technology built by his country’s aid. During his visit he also promised to donate helicopters to Afghanistan though he did not go into details about what kind of helicopters would be given to Afghanistan, but he added that Afghanistan was very special. “We have also been giving them some logistical support and we hopefully will be able to upgrade and refurbish their transport aircraft,” Khurshid said, according to the report of Press Trust of India.
Kandahar is a province that has been the victim of insurgency every now and then. It was the main headquarter of Taliban and its ally al-Qaeda. When the US-led military intervention started in 2001, some baseless reports circulated among people in other parts of the country as 50,000 Taliban militants vowed to die for defense of the regime which was only recognized by three countries during its rule.
Building a university at the heart of the same city would help the city in promulgating education. Meanwhile, humanitarian support and visits of thousands of Afghans to India as well as widespread popularity of Indian movies have pulled the two countries close together. Most of the Afghans deem India as supportive country and they think that tightening relation with it is in line with their national interest. Additionally, due to its popularity, other countries also like India to take bigger share in the country.
Meanwhile, Afghan officials should have cordial relation with all countries and do not held measures which may hurt the others. So, in its every policy they should consider the balance.