Bharat Rakshak

Along a rugged stretch of road in the shadow of the snow-covered Hindu Kush mountains, villagers in mud-brick huts praised the newest addition to their vista: a series of massive steel towers that reach into the clouds.

The towers, part of a $1.3 billion aid package from India, carry electricity to a crippled region that has long gone without. They also represent an intense competition between India and arch-rival Pakistan for influence in whatever kind of Afghanistan emerges from the U.S.-led war.

To blunt India's eager courtship of Afghanistan, Pakistan is pouring $300 million of its own money and resources into a nation it also views as key to the stability of volatile South Asia, as well as a potentially lucrative business partner.

The economic stakes are especially enormous for India, the far richer nation, as it seeks energy to fuel its rise as a global economic power. Afghanistan is a bridge to Central Asia's vast gas and oil reserves, which are coveted by India and Pakistan, both of which have nuclear weapons but barely enough electricity.

For U.S. officials, India's increasing presence in Afghanistan is causing new security and diplomatic problems in a country where more than 1,000 American troops have died in more than eight years of war. Washington also fears upsetting the delicate balance in its relations with Islamabad.

Washington is feeling pressure from Pakistan to limit India's role in Afghanistan. Each nation fears, to a degree that outsiders often find irrational, that an Afghanistan allied with the other would be threat to its security. Pakistan considers Afghanistan, another majority-Muslim nation, a natural ally and is deeply suspicious of India's efforts there.

U.S. and NATO officials said they feared militant groups linked to Pakistan would step up attacks on Indian aid workers and other India-linked targets in Afghanistan, complicating efforts to stabilize the country.

Indian officials have publicly stated that they suspect a Pakistani role in the attacks against Indians; Pakistani officials have rejected the charges. Indian and U.S. intelligence officials have linked Pakistan to the 2008 bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul, which killed more than 50 people, saying Pakistani intelligence had collaborated with militants. Indian officials also suspect Pakistani involvement in a suicide bombing at the embassy in October, which killed 17 people.

In the guesthouse attacks, Afghan intelligence officials publicly blamed Lashkar-i-Taiba, a Pakistan-based militant group that has been implicated in the 2008 siege in Mumbai that killed 165 people.

The guesthouse bombings shocked many Indians and intensified widespread popular anger against Pakistan. Indians and Afghans were partly enraged because Bhola Ram, the Chelebaak engineer, and several other victims were Indian nationals working on aid projects.

"Bhola Ram's project was almost done when he was killed," said Giliani Lutfi, 45, an Afghan co-worker at the new electrical plant just outside Kabul. "Please tell India, we are so sorry. Ram gave our people power, and that means life to us. It wasn't the Afghan people who stole his life."

Indian officials note that their country has educated many of Afghanistan's top leaders, including President Hamid Karzai, who has a master's degree from an Indian university.

And when the U.S.-led coalition invaded Afghanistan in 2001 to oust the Taliban, India provided intelligence and other military support, according to Rani Mullen, an upcoming fellow at New Delhi's Center for Policy Research.

The competition between the two nations can seem silly at times: When India donated a fleet of buses in the western city of Herat, Pakistan began donating buses decorated with painted Pakistani flags.

New Delhi's diplomatic offensive in Afghanistan is on display at a dusty Kabul construction site, where Indian engineers are working with Afghans to build a $90 million parliament, funded by India.


The floors and walls of the palacelike structure, a gleaming symbol of the new Afghanistan, are to be inlaid with green and rose marble from the Indian state of Rajasthan.

Such Indian-sponsored projects are sprouting from Kabul to Herat, widely considered Afghanistan's cultural heart and home to poets, painters and Sufi mystics. And they continue despite the targeted violence against Indians.

In February, Nawab Khan, an Indian musician who plays a percussion instrument known as a tabla, came to Herat to play a concert sponsored by the Indian government.

"He was sitting right here after the performance," said Tara Chand, consul general of the heavily guarded Indian consulate in Herat. "He played to a full house. All the Afghans took photographs of him with their cellphones. It was a lovely night."

Khan returned to Kabul, to fly home to New Delhi. But during the guesthouse bombings that also killed Bhola Ram, the father of six was crushed to death when the roof collapsed on him.

The guesthouse deaths outraged many Afghans, and Ram's co-workers gathered to pray for him after the attack.

Outside Kabul one recent day, at the Chimtala substation where Ram worked, young Afghans proudly inspected the power plant wearing new work boots and coats donated by India.

Sitting in a sun-streamed classroom, Sayed Arif, 25, and other young engineers were learning how to run the power plant.

"We very much want the Indians here," Arif said, looking out at the power lines that India brought to his country. "That much in Afghanistan we are sure of."

JE Menon wrote:That Atimes article by MKB is outstanding. Must read.

His [Karzai's] frustration is that the Americans are either far too naive to comprehend what is going on or are dissimulating since they are pursuing some "hidden agenda" in relation to the geopolitics of the region.

CRamS wrote:India is central, core, to every issue US (and TSP) make in the region.
...
The cold war and to hatred of India, and to a certain exten disdain for Hinduism, continues to drive US policy towards India.

BTW: I am curious but when did Iran commit any terror attacks against US? Lets stick to facts, not propaganda.

Rangudu wrote:
TSP's actions are driven by their hatred for India surely, but US actions? Not backed by evidence.

Disdain for Hinduism or Cold War memories likely have roles to play in specific policy cliques - E.g. Atlanticists, but they drive the policy? Hard to make that case.

Look up 1983 Marine Barracks, Beirut etc. and to this day the perpetrators and their Iranian backers have gotten away largely scot free.

Each nation fears, to a degree that outsiders often find irrational, that an Afghanistan allied with the other would be threat to its security

Pranav wrote:Are there any signs of the Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital in Kabul re-opening? It will be really sad if it gets shut down permanently. Surely, security can be arranged for half-dozen military doctors?

US special forces soldiers dug bullets out of their victims’ bodies in the bloody aftermath of a botched night raid, then washed the wounds with alcohol before lying to their superiors about what happened, Afghan investigators have told The Times.

Two pregnant women, a teenage girl, a police officer and his brother were shot on February 12 when US and Afghan special forces stormed their home in Khataba village, outside Gardez in eastern Afghanistan. The precise composition of the force has never been made public.

The claims were made as Nato admitted responsibility for all the deaths for the first time last night. It had initially claimed that the women had been dead for several hours when the assault force discovered their bodies.

“Despite earlier reports we have determined that the women were accidentally killed as a result of the joint force firing at the men,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Todd Breasseale, a Nato spokesman. The coalition continued to deny that there had been a cover-up and said that its legal investigation, which is ongoing, had found no evidence of inappropriate conduct.

Mr Karzai told the BBC he still believed the US and others played a role in perpetrating the fraud. His tirade caused dismay in many capitals, including Washington, where the White House called it "troubling".

KABUL – Afghan President Hamid Karzai threatened over the weekend to quit the political process and join the Taliban if he continued to come under outside pressure to reform, several members of parliament said Monday.Karzai made the unusual statement at a closed-door meeting Saturday with selected lawmakers — just days after kicking up a diplomatic controversy with remarks alleging foreigners were behind fraud in last year's disputed elections.Lawmakers dismissed the latest comment as hyperbole, but it will add to the impression the president — who relies on tens of thousands of U.S. and NATO forces to fight the insurgency and prop up his government — is growing increasingly erratic and unable to exert authority without attacking his foreign backers."He said that 'if I come under foreign pressure, I might join the Taliban'," said Farooq Marenai, who represents the eastern province of Nangarhar."He said rebelling would change to resistance," Marenai said — apparently suggesting that the militant movement would then be redefined as one of resistance against a foreign occupation rather than a rebellion against an elected government.

"Karzai, during the course of the conversation, expressed surprise his comments had ‘caused a stir,'" State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told The Cable, adding that Karzai did not actually go as far as to apologize or retract the comments.

"He clarified what he meant. He assured us that his comments were not directed at the United States," Crowley said.

vishal wrote:Two former ISI officers with close ties to Taliban kidnapped.

Extract: They were on way back to their homes after having a meeting with the Taliban leadership in tribal areas when they were allegedly picked up by unknown people. It is yet not clear who kidnapped them.

Philip wrote:This is why India cannot trust the US because of the lies and chicanery and war crimes committed that it tries to hush up.The US care absolutely nothing for any non-US citizen and do not wish to understand their culture,people and religion,except when they are forced too as of now as they are in s*it street in Af-Pak.There is no nation on the planet that considers the rest of the globe its "happy hunting ground" and at regular intervals indulges in "expeditionary wars".As in Vietnam ,so will the US be forced to retreat from both Iraq and Afghanistan shamefully.A large number of western generals and military experts,including US and UK ones, have already said that the war is "unwinnable".

chanakyaa wrote:

I am sure India will only do it if Unkil can offer us something which we desperately need like technology only then we would do it.

Now, I'm confused. What technology are you referring to, that would convince GoI to buy worthless bonds? Only citizens of India can help themselves get from where they are today to where they should be in future in terms of lifestyle, basic rights, and prosperity etc.. No need of any technology.

Former deputy head of the UN mission in Afghanistan Peter Galbraith today told MSNBC that he questions Afghan President Hamid Karzai's "mental stability."

"He’s prone to tirades," Galbraith said of the Afghan leader reelected to a second, five-year presidential term last year. "He can be very emotional, act impulsively."

"In fact, some of the palace insiders say that he has a certain fondness for some of Afghanistan’s most profitable exports," Galbraith charged, referring to opium or heroin.

...

Yesterday at 2 p.m., Richard Holbrooke was told that he may have some clogged heart valves — and will go in Thursday for an angiogram and further treatment in New York. He, Jack Lew, Rajiv Shah and others were to travel with Gen. David Petraeus on a major AfPak trip this week, but will have to forgo that trip.

Holbrooke assured me that this kinds of things are routine now. He shared the news with Secretary of State Clinton last night — and was in the process of contacting Gen. Petraeus during our meeting.

Signalling a strained relationship with Hamid Karzai, United States has indicated that Afghanistan President's White House invitation could be withdrawn if he continues with his anti-US rhetoric.

The US would continue to evaluate the statements coming from Karzai and if there is no sign of improvement, the evaluation could result in cancellation of the invitation, a senior Obama administration official said.

abhishek_sharma wrote:Holbrooke grounded by health problems

http://www.politico.com/blogs/lauraroze ... blems.html

Yesterday at 2 p.m., Richard Holbrooke was told that he may have some clogged heart valves —

abhishek_sharma wrote:Former UN envoy: Karzai "off balance"

http://www.politico.com/blogs/lauraroze ... ance_.html

Former deputy head of the UN mission in Afghanistan Peter Galbraith today told MSNBC that he questions Afghan President Hamid Karzai's "mental stability."

"He’s prone to tirades," Galbraith said of the Afghan leader reelected to a second, five-year presidential term last year. "He can be very emotional, act impulsively."

"In fact, some of the palace insiders say that he has a certain fondness for some of Afghanistan’s most profitable exports," Galbraith charged, referring to opium or heroin.

...

Rudradev wrote:
Time to invite him to New Delhi to meet with Cashmeery separatists, and feed him a ghee-loaded Waazwaan with tons of malai and almond sauce.

The Philippines — and South Korea as well — evolved into thriving democracies at their own pace, well after American aid helped to beat back the military threats facing them. It was enough to prevent the Communist takeovers and leave behind governments controlled in the background by a strong military. We didn’t spend tens of billions of dollars on material projects to inculcate democratic principles.

Similarly, a diminished Hamid Karzai can be left to run a sloppy government, with a powerful, American-financed Afghan military insuring that the Taliban do not take over.

Admittedly, this risks the emergence of the Pakistan model in Afghanistan — an army that has a country rather than a country that has an army. But we are not obliged to build a democratic nation under a feckless leader. We need to defend our interests, and leave the nation-building to the Afghans themselves.

“There’s no question of retreating from Afghanistan,” says a senior Indian diplomat. Such brave words are perhaps for public consumption, for there are tell-tale signs of India scaling down its presence here. Nearly 50 per cent of Indian personnel working on various projects in Afghanistan have been sent home. The Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health in Kabul—the only children’s hospital in the country—is without an Indian doctor; any medical guidance from New Delhi is rendered through teleconferencing. And though four other medical missions are working now, India isn’t taking on any new projects, content to complete the two on hand—the Salma dam and construction of the Afghan Parliament—of the $1.3-billion worth of Indian projects initiated here. The SEWA (Self-Employed Women’s Association) scheme, hugely popular as it empowered Afghan women, has been put on hold; Indian-run vocational courses have been suspended; and the training of Afghan civilian personnel, whether in government or civil society, will only be imparted in India now.

A senior MEA official justifies the scaling down saying no new projects are being taken up “because we have not been asked to by the Afghan government”. He points out that many of the 3,500 Indians in Afghanistan now are there of their own accord—and are not working on Indian government projects. “If some of them now want to return to India, how can we stop them,” he asks.

Considering the popularity of these projects, it’s debatable whether India would have desisted from proposing new projects to the Afghan government. New schemes would have augmented further the formidable soft power India already enjoys here—Bollywood remains extremely popular, and now even TV serials command an enviable following (TV star Smriti Irani is fast becoming a household name). India remains the favourite destination of Afghans—the Indian embassy and four other missions here issue 350 visas daily, a fact borne out by the packed thrice daily flights between Kabul and New Delhi.

So is it that President Hamid Karzai’s government doesn’t want Indians here?

Karzai has been an ally of New Delhi, well disposed to India because of, among other things, having studied here. He has also had testy relations with Pakistan, distrustful of its machinations and proximity to the Taliban. Most Afghan observers say things began to change when Karzai began to reach out to Pakistan last year. Partly, he did this out of desperation—the US and other western powers began to gun for him months before the November election, believing he didn’t serve their interests. In addition, Obama unveiled his new Afghan policy, opting for a surge in Afghanistan and promising a scaling down of American troops by mid-2011. This fanned the already existing speculation that the Obama administration wasn’t really averse to the return of a ‘reformed’ Taliban.

There are many here who blame India for its plight. They say India was not assertive about its presence here, thus failing to win the confidence of those who, hemmed in between Iran and Pakistan, considered it a natural ally. Says Moridian Dawood, advisor to the Afghan foreign minister, “India seems apologetic about its presence. It’s a regional player and must behave like one, instead of insisting on a benign presence with a penchant for staying in the background.”

Many in the Afghan establishment echo Dawood’s view, pointing out that even Karzai had told Indian officials that since New Delhi didn’t have the stomach to back him in the face of US opposition, he had no choice but to throw his lot with Pakistan. Not only Karzai, many liberal Pashtuns complain that India didn’t openly back them, preferring to cultivate its old friends in the erstwhile Northern Alliance. No doubt, India tried to correct this perception, locating many projects in the Pashtun-dominated provinces rather than at places where ethic minority groups are in a majority. But this has not quite earned it enough dividends.

Should Karzai and the Taliban strike a deal, Afghanistan could again slip into chaos, imperilling India’s $1.3 billion investment and the energy it expended to acquire a salience here. No wonder, Indian officials are burning the midnight oil, trying to refashion its Afghan policy. Should it put its weight behind the groups which constituted the Northern Alliance, a formation that’s bound to oppose a return of the Taliban? Or should it play both ends, refrain from shutting the door on the Pashtuns? Says Dawood, “I don’t believe this is the end-game. But India, which enjoys so much popular support among Afghans, must have the stamina and patience to stay the course. It can’t afford to run away.”

Pranav wrote:Kabul Dur Ast : http://www.outlookindia.com/printarticle.aspx?264838

Excerpts:

Many in the Afghan establishment echo Dawood’s view, pointing out that even Karzai had told Indian officials that since New Delhi didn’t have the stomach to back him in the face of US opposition, he had no choice but to throw his lot with Pakistan.

surinder wrote:Karzai has studied in Simla & Chandigarh. He speaks Hindi (what pakis might call Urdu) fluently. He was/is a genuine friend & admire of India. But who wants to partner with dhoti-wetting weaklings. I am sorry, but no one likes weak people, and rightly so.

Karzaai, has shown more courage than Indians. Consider his situation, and consider India's position. He snubs the AmirKhan and talks frankly & bluntly about TSP more than an Indian PM/President has courage to. You gotta admire his b@11s.