Ramsco's Women Empowerment Initiative Recognized Among Top BRICS Businesswomen Practices for 2025    Egypt, Elsewedy review progress on Ain Sokhna phosphate complex    Gold prices end July with modest gains    Pakistan says successfully concluded 'landmark trade deal' with US    Egypt's FM, US envoy discuss Gaza ceasefire, Iran nuclear talks    Modon Holding posts AED 2.1bn net profit in H1 2025    Egypt's Electricity Ministry says new power cable for Giza area operational    Egypt's Al-Sisi, Italian defence minister discuss Gaza, security cooperation    Egypt's FM discusses Gaza, Nile dam with US senators    Aid airdrops intensify as famine deepens in Gaza amid mounting international criticism    Health minister showcases AI's impact on healthcare at Huawei Cloud Summit    On anti-trafficking day, Egypt's PM calls fight a 'moral and humanitarian duty'    Federal Reserve maintains interest rates    Egypt strengthens healthcare partnerships to enhance maternity, multiple sclerosis, and stroke care    Egypt keeps Gaza aid flowing, total tops 533,000 tons: minister    Indian Embassy to launch cultural festival in Assiut, film fest in Cairo    Egyptian aid convoy heads toward Gaza as humanitarian crisis deepens    Culture minister launches national plan to revive film industry, modernise cinematic assets    Rafah Crossing 'never been closed for one day' from Egypt: PM    I won't trade my identity to please market: Douzi    Two militants killed in foiled plot to revive 'Hasm' operations: Interior ministry    Egypt's EHA, Huawei discuss enhanced digital health    Egypt, Oman discuss environmental cooperation    Egypt's EDA explores pharma cooperation with Belarus    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Can Afghanistan step out of Pakistan's shadow?
Published in Daily News Egypt on 14 - 09 - 2016

For decades, Afghanistan has been relying economically and militarily on neighboring Pakistan. But Afghan President Ghani wants to break this dependence by bolstering ties with India, where he is on a two-day visit.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is on a two-day visit to New Delhi to boost bilateral ties that have been improving for quite some time. On Wednesday, Ghani and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again urged Pakistan to end "all sponsorship of terrorism." Both Kabul and New Delhi complain that terrorists with sanctuaries in Pakistan are creating unrest on their soil, an allegation Islamabad denies.
India has maintained close ties with Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001. It is one of Afghanistan's major donors, underwriting an array of development projects in the impoverished nation.
On Wednesday, September 14, India offered a fresh one billion dollars (890 million euros) in aid to Kabul for building capacity in education, health, agriculture, energy and infrastructure, said a joint statement by Modi and Ghani.
The two leaders also pledged to speed up the implementation of an agreement between New Delhi, Tehran and Kabul to develop the Chabahar port in Iran. They said the project was vital for both India and Afghanistan as it would increase connectivity within the region. India also plans to use the Chabahar port for trade with Afghanistan in the absence of a land route through Pakistan.
Afghanistan-India military ties
Since Modi took power in India two years ago, the Afghan-India ties have also expanded to cover defense and security agreements. India has already donated four multirole Mi-25 helicopters to Afghanistan and more defense deals are in the pipeline. India also trains hundreds of Afghan soldiers each year in its military academy.
Islamabad is skeptical of these growing Indian-Afghan relations and feels that a pro-Indian government across its western border in Kabul imperils its strategic goals.
But Afghan President Ghani has made it clear that he wants to break his country's dependence on Pakistan. Not only the Afghan government feels that Pakistan's civilian and military establishments haven't done much to rein in militant Islamists, it also accuses its neighbor of pursuing a well-planned strategy to push pro-Islamabad groups into power in Afghanistan.
Can India replace Pakistan?
But it's unclear if Afghanistan can really afford this gamble. "Closer ties with India could be helpful for Afghanistan's economy but, at the same time, it might create new security challenges for the country," Sayed Mahdi Manadi, a Kabul University lecturer, told DW.
"Economically, India will continue to be an important partner for Kabul, but I would like to stress that New Delhi cannot replace Islamabad as Afghanistan shares a long border with Pakistan. Geographically, it is tied up with Pakistan in the south," Manadi added.
The expert says that President Ghani should improve ties with India as it benefits Kabul to have access to the Indian market. At the same time, India, too, profits from cordial ties with Afghanistan.
"Afghanistan is India's gateway to Central Asia. It can also be a market for Indian products, therefore, I believe India wants a stable Afghanistan," he underlined.
But Manadi believes that irking both Islamabad and the Taliban by getting closer to New Delhi would create problems for Kabul.
Spike in terror attacks
Some observers believe Afghanistan's increasingly close ties with India are a reason for the recent uptick in violence.
On September 5, twin blasts carried out by the Taliban insurgent group followed by an 11-hour standoff with Afghan security forces killed at least 41 people, including senior government officials, and left over 100 people wounded. And a couple of weeks earlier, 16 people lost their lives when militants stormed the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul.
Violence has never been absent in the Afghan capital, and the recent incidents are just another episode of suicide attacks and bombings that have rocked the city. Still, the increasing brutality and high number of casualties have left many Afghans shaken.
In its first public response to Indian military aid, the Taliban recently urged New Delhi to stop giving defense equipment to the Afghan government, condemning it as a "clear hostility" towards the war-ravaged nation.
"We call on India to stop exporting items of killing and destruction to Afghanistan and to stop efforts of prolonging the lifespan of this corrupt regime with its military aid," Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Taliban, said in a statement released on September 4.
Siegfried O. Wolf, a South Asia analyst at the University of Heidelberg, believes that the recent Taliban statements show that the jihadists are identifying India not only as a partner of US interests in Afghanistan but also as an increasing successor in military terms and subsequently as a primary target.
"As such, the last Taliban attacks in Kabul are not only directed against the Afghan government but are also a signal towards New Delhi to stay out of the country, that India – like the US – is identified as hostile foreign influence," he told DW.
Normalization of relations
Both New Delhi and Islamabad have wrestled for influence in Kabul in recent decades. But the strengthening of ties between New Delhi and Kabul has sparked fears of a possible proxy war in Afghanistan between India and Pakistan, a historic backer of the Taliban.
Experts say that Afghanistan and Pakistan have to cooperate regionally and work towards a normalization of their bilateral relations.
If the two countries fail to improve their relations, they will face not only economic disaster but also armed conflict, Wolf said.
Against this backdrop, Afghans are increasingly concerned about the severe impact the geopolitical struggle involving Afghanistan, Pakistan and India is having on their lives and security.
Additional reporting by Masood Saifullah.


Clic here to read the story from its source.