Afghan Army Chief Gen Ahmadzai expected to visit India next week

Afghan Army Chief Gen Ahmadzai expected to visit India next week

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New Delhi, Jul 20 (PTI) Afghan Army Chief Gen Wali Mohammad Ahmadzai is expected to pay a three-day crucial visit to India from July 27 to explore boosting bilateral military ties in the face of the Taliban making sweeping offensive across Afghanistan following the withdrawal of foreign forces, people familiar with the development said on Tuesday.

Gen Ahmadzai is scheduled to hold wide-ranging talks with the top Indian military brass including his counterpart Gen MM Naravane and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, they said.

‘The Afghan Army Chief is scheduled to arrive in India on July 27 for a three-day visit. He is scheduled to return in the first half of July 30. Strengthening defence cooperation will be the focus of the visit,’ said one of the persons. Afghanistan has been reaching out to its key allies in seeking support to strengthen its security forces in the backdrop of the Taliban resorting to widespread violence to expand its influence across the country after the US began withdrawing troops from May 1.

In the last few years, India has provided at least five military helicopters to the war-ravaged country which has been trying to strengthen its air power.

Afghanistan has also been seeking India’s assistance in making functional Soviet-era helicopters and transport aircraft that were not in flying condition.

The country has been struggling to get spare parts for aircraft and helicopters due to Western sanctions against Moscow.

Last month President Ashraf Ghani appointed Gen Wali Mohammad Ahmadzai as the new chief of army staff, replacing Gen Yasin Zia.

It is learnt that Gen Ahmadzai is likely to seek supply of military hardware from India to enhance the combat capability of his forces.

The Afghan Army chief’s visit to India also comes in the midst of increasing strain in Kabul’s ties with Islamabad following the brief kidnapping of the daughter of Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan.

Following the incident, the Afghanistan foreign ministry said it was recalling the ambassador and other senior diplomats until all security threats are removed.

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In an address at a connectivity conference in Tashkent on Friday, President Ghani hit out at Pakistan for the influx of foreign terrorists into Afghanistan and failing to do enough to influence the Taliban to seriously engage in the peace talks.

‘Intelligence estimates indicate the influx of over 10,000 jihadi fighters (into Afghanistan) from Pakistan and other places in the last month,’ Ghani said at the conference in the presence of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and several other leaders.

India has been a major stakeholder in the peace and stability of Afghanistan. It has already invested nearly USD 3 billion in aid and reconstruction activities in the country.

India has been supporting a national peace and reconciliation process which is Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled. PTI MPB ANB ANB

Afghanistan Says May Seek India Military Assistance If Taliban Talks Fail

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Talks between the Taliban and the Afghanistan government look to be fizzling out.

Highlights But the aid sought would not involve sending troops, Afghan envoy said

He said India’s help could be sought for training and technical support

One-third of Afghanistan is in active fight with Taliban, said the envoy

The government of Afghanistan may, at some future point, seek India’s military assistance if talks with the Taliban fail amid a withdrawal of US troops from there, the country’s Ambassador to India has said. He, however, made it clear that the aid sought would not involve sending troops but could be in areas like training and technical support.

Representatives of the Taliban and the Afghanistan government have been holding talks amid the insurgents’ increasing control over the country even as the US looks to wind up its almost two-decade war there by the end of August.

However, the peace talks supposedly taking place in Doha have largely fizzled out, and the Taliban now appear set on a complete military victory, AFP reported on Tuesday.

“Should we not get to a stage in the peace process with the Taliban, then maybe a time (will come) where we would be seeking India’s military assistance, more military assistance in the years ahead,” Farid Mamundzay, Afghanistan’s Ambassador to India, told NDTV.

“We are not seeking India’s assistance with sending troops to Afghanistan. Their footprint in Afghanistan to fight our war would not be needed at this stage,” he clarified.

He explained how, for instance, how the Air Force is an area where his country would require assistance in and that more opportunities could be explored on this front. The envoy cited pilot training, for which India is “naturally a place” it would want involvement from.

“India has also, again, helped us with two key components, one was to help with providing us military training (and) scholarships for our cadets,” Mr Mamundzay said.

On the civilian front, he listed the 1,000 annual scholarships India provides, the 20,000-odd Afghan students studying here now, the building of the new Afghan parliament, and the construction of dams, besides other infrastructure projects.

The current situation in Afghanistan is “very dire” and “very problematic”, with the government forces actively fighting the Taliban in around 150 of the 376 districts, the Ambassador said.

“So one-third of the country is in active fight… Over two lakh people have been displaced internally in the country since April 2021 alone, with close to 4,000 killed,” he said.

The insurgents have swept through much of northern Afghanistan in recent weeks and the government now holds little more than a constellation of provincial capitals that must largely be reinforced and resupplied by air, AFP reported today.

The Taliban have, however, said they do not want to battle government forces inside cities.

Referring to the recent killing of 22 government forces personnel, Mr Mamundzay said: “This happened in the province of Faryab last month where 22 of our special forces were brutally murdered by Taliban at a time when they were surrendering.”

“We were under the assumption that Taliban would take the peace process seriously and they would negotiate a lasting and dignified peace with the Afghan government, yet they chose the path of violence.”

On Sunday, India evacuated diplomats and security personnel from its Kandahar consulate in the wake of intense fighting.

Afghanistan Army Chief To Visit India From July 27-29 To Bolster Bilateral Ties: Sources

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Afghanistan Army Chief General Wali Mohammad Ahmadzai is expected to pay a three-day crucial visit to India, according to army sources. General Ahmadzai’s visit for boosting bilateral military ties comes amid the ongoing clashes between the Afghanistan Army and the Taliban which is increasingly capturing more swathes across the country following a withdrawal of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan. Sources further added that General Ahmadzai is scheduled to hold wide-ranging talks with the top Indian military brass including his counterpart Gen MM Naravane and India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

Afghanistan Army Chief General Wali Mohammad Ahmadzai to visit India

“The Afghan Army Chief is scheduled to arrive in India on July 27 for a three-day visit. He is scheduled to return in the first half of July 30. Strengthening defence cooperation will be the focus of the visit,” said one of the persons.

As its forces continue to fight the Taliban, Afghanistan has been reaching out to its key allies in seeking support to strengthen its security forces. The Taliban on the other hand is gaining more ground and is resorting to widespread violence to expand its influence across the country. India, a close ally of Afghanistan, has provided it with at least five military helicopters. In addition, Afghanistan has also been seeking India’s assistance in making functional Soviet-era helicopters and transport aircraft that were not in flying condition.

This comes amid Western sanctions on Moscow that have also affected Afghanistan as it is struggling to procure spare parts for aircraft and helicopters. General Wali Mohammad Ahmadzai, who replaced General Yasin Zia was appointed as the new army chief by President Ashraf Ghani. Sources have also reported that General Ahmadzai will likely seek a supply of military hardware from India to enhance the combat capability of his forces.

Afghan Army chief’s India visit amid straining ties with Pakistan

Moreover, General Ahmadzai’s visit also comes amid Afghanistan’s shaky ties with Pakistan after the kidnapping of the daughter of Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan. Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan informed that it was recalling the ambassador, envoys and other senior diplomats till the security threats are resolved.

“Following the abduction of the Afghan Ambassador’s daughter in Pakistan, the Leadership of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan called back Afghanistan’s Ambassador and senior diplomats from Pakistan until all security threats are addressed including the arrest and trial of the perpetrators of abduction,” it announced, confirming the exit of high-level officials.

In addition, President Ghani heavily came down on Pakistan for the influx of foreign terrorists into Afghanistan’s soil. Moreover, President Ghani also criticised Pakistan for not doing enough to influence the Taliban to seriously engage in the peace talks. “Intelligence estimates indicate the influx of over 10,000 jihadi fighters (into Afghanistan) from Pakistan and other places in the last month,” Ghani said at a conference in Tashkent that was also attended by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and several other leaders.

One of the reasons for Afghanistan and India’s close ties is due to the latter’s massive investment in Afghanistan. India has been a major stakeholder in the peace and stability of Afghanistan. It has already invested nearly USD 3 billion in aid and reconstruction activities in the country. India has been supporting a national peace and reconciliation process which is Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled.

With PTI Inputs