NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrived in India on Sunday to boost ties with New Delhi that have blossomed after the fall of the Taliban regime, in a trip a nervous Pakistan will be closely watching.
Afghanistan has received hundreds of millions of dollars in development aid from India in the past four years, but its ties with Pakistan have strained after Karzai asked Islamabad to do more to stop Taliban militants infiltrating the border.
“Well, we are very happy in Afghanistan with India helping us in a manner that is not expected,” Karzai told Indian state TV, Doordarshan, in comments aired on Sunday before his arrival.
Karzai starts the official leg of his five-day trip on Monday and will hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
India, which did not recognize the radical Taliban regime, lost its foothold in the rugged country where arch rival Pakistan held diplomatic sway for years before the September 2001 attacks on the United States sparked a U.S-led invasion.
India is now involved in training Afghanistan’s police and diplomats, building roads, hospitals and supporting trade and services as Afghanistan tries to rebuild its war-ravaged economy, despite continuing attacks by Taliban and al Qaeda insurgents.
Singh visited Afghanistan last August.
“GOING OUT OF ITS WAY”
“India went out of its way to provide us with great economic assistance. India’s help is reaching up to $600 million. It has helped us in all walks of life,” Karzai said.
Analysts in Pakistan, which has fought three wars with India, said Islamabad was worried over India’s growing influence in Afghanistan, which borders Pakistani territory.
“Pakistan should improve its relations with Afghanistan to check the growing Indian influence,” said Hasan Askari Rizvi, Lahore-based foreign policy analyst.
“The visit should not be a cause of concern for Pakistan because it can’t stop it. But the growing influence of India in Afghanistan creates problems for Pakistan.”
New Delhi was a key backer of Afghan forces led by the Northern Alliance which, along with the U.S. military, overthrew the Taliban, aided by Pakistan up to September 2001.
Islamabad has not allowed overland transit for Indian goods bound for Afghanistan, further hitting Indo-Afghan trade.
Militant attacks in Afghanistan have increased and relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have cooled after Karzai’s complaints that Pakistan was not taking enough action against Taliban operating on its side of the border.
President Pervez Musharraf responded angrily, saying members of the government in Kabul were out to malign Pakistan.
Analysts in India said Singh and Karzai were likely to discuss the activities of Islamic militants on Pakistani soil.
“Pakistan’s territory is a hub for terrorist activities that affects both for Afghanistan and India,” New Delhi-based strategic affairs analyst C. Raja Mohan said.
“Both have a stake in Pakistan adopting a policy that is more harmonised with regional interest … The Taliban resurgence is a huge problem for Karzai,” he said.
(Additional reporting by Zeeshan Haider in ISLAMABAD)
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