India and Afghanistan Defence Cooperation

[ComradePashtun]

Wardak, Anthony to talk defence cooperation


by Sujoy Dhar on 1 June, 2011 - 16:30

NEW DELHI (PAN) Afghan Minister of Defence Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak, currently in New Delhi on a three-day visit, said on Wednesday his country would welcome cooperation from India in training its security forces.

Heading a high-level Afghan government delegation to India, Wardak told reporters in Delhi: "We will welcome any cooperation in the field of training and helping our national security forces to be able to defend their country."

Ahead of talks with his Indian counterpart A.K. Antony, Wardak said they would discuss military equipment supplies to Afghanistan by India. "We have a very genuine interest in strengthening our relations in all different sectors, including defence."

Wardak is expected to confer with senior officials of the defence ministry and armed forces cooperation on issues, including capacity building of Afghan security forces.

The defence ministry said the trip marked another step in the steady progress in bilateral relations, as it came soon after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Afghanistan earlier last month.
There have been periodic exchanges between the armed forces of the two countries since Wardak last visited India in April 2008. Afghan Chief of General Staff Gen. Sher Mohammad Karimi visited India in October last year.

Wardak's visit marks another step in the steady progress in bilateral relations, particularly as it comes soon after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s trip to Afghanistan last month.

A day earlier, India and Germany said they desired to see an independent Afghanistan handling its security on its own. The remark was made by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at a joint press conference.

[ComradePashtun]

funny pic lol

[emkhan]

Two terrorists are shaking hands. This is too dangerous for the peace process.

[ComradePashtun]

India, Afghanistan to step up defence ties

NEW DELHI: With Afghanistan slated to handle its own security by 2014, Kabul and New Delhi on Wednesday resolved to step up their bilateral defence cooperation.

"We will welcome any cooperation (from India) in the field of training and helping of Afghan national security forces so that they are able to secure and defend the country," said visiting Afghanistan defence minister General Abdul Rahim Wardak.

Defence minister A K Antony, in turn, assured Wardak that India was "committed" to building "the capabilities" of Afghan security forces. "As a long standing friend of the Afghan people", he said, India remains fully committed to supporting the war-ravaged country in its reconstruction and developmental efforts.

On whether the enhanced defence cooperation would lead to India supplying military equipment to Afghanistan, Wardak said, "We will be discussing it. There is a very genuine interest in strengthening our relations in all sectors including defence."

With India continuing with its policy to counter Pakistan's moves in the strategically-located Afghanistan, PM Manmohan Singh had visited Kabul last month to deepen the bilateral strategic partnership across the political, economic and security fronts.

India has been regularly training Afghan officers and other ranks at its military training institutions, ranging from the NDA and Indian Military Academy at Dehradun to the School of Artillery at Deolali, ever since the Karzai government came to office.

India has also posted some Army officers in the central Asian nation to teach basic military fieldcraft and English skills to the Afghan Army, apart from sending several military doctors to help at hospitals in Kandahar and elsewhere.

Afghanistan has, in fact, sought even more Indian help in "capacity-building" of its armed forces, which even includes training of its pilots and technicians in operating Russian-origin Mi-35 helicopter gunships, as well as sourcing supplies for its Soviet-era tanks and aircraft.

[ComradePashtun]

No Pakis in the thread, including you emkhan, plz!

[ComradePashtun]

India committed to building the capabilities of Afghan security forces

Special Correspondent




Genuine interest to strengthen relations with India in all sectors: General Wardak


India on Wednesday said it was “committed to building the capabilities of the Afghan security forces” even as Afghanistan stated that it sought cooperation in all areas, including defence. These views were expressed by Defence Minister A.K. Antony and his Afghan counterpart General Abdul Rahim Wardak here.

General Wardak is here on a three-day visit, which comes on the heels of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Kabul last month. Significantly, while India has, in recent years, promised around $2 billion in development aid to Afghanistan, it has rarely expressed its views on helping modernise and retrain the Afghan National Army. On Wednesday too, Mr. Antony said India was committed to building the capabilities of Afghan “security forces,” an official release said.

Asked to elaborate upon the nature of assistance sought by Kabul and whether it included supply of military equipment, the visiting Defence Minister told correspondents that the matter would be discussed. There was, he said, a genuine interest to strengthen relations with India in all sectors, including defence.

Mr. Antony said during the delegation level talks: “As a longstanding friend of the Afghan people, India remains fully committed to supporting Afghanistan in its reconstruction and development efforts.”

The Defence Ministry said that Mr. Antony also conveyed New Delhi's willingness to work with the Afghan government “in building the capabilities of the Afghan security forces in accordance with the priorities of the Afghan government.”

Mr. Antony said India attached high importance to bilateral relations with Afghanistan, as was evident in the multi-faceted relationship. The Afghan Minister, who is accompanied by a seven-member delegation, conveyed the appreciation of the Afghan people and government for the friendship and support received from the Indian side, the release said.

There have been periodic exchanges between the armed forces of the two countries since General Wardak's last visit in April 2008. His latest trip to India also assumes significance, coming as it does amid growing terror attacks in that country, and merely a month after the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nationa...cle2068619.ece

[emkhan]

No Indians on this forum including you comrade plz

[ComradePashtun]

Yeah but a Paki saying that doesn't count. So saying that, it means this is no Paki forum, emkhan - you are in the wrong place! Go and sniff aorund a Paki domain, Paki emkhan, this is a Pashtun forum.

[faye]

i don't know why you name yourself comrade, comrade, you sound more like a fascist, comrade. emkhan has every right to comment here.
so you are indian, eh?

[emkhan]

comrade is a secular extremist. In this thread he looks more like an Indian. He has also lost manners. I don't know which university has he studied at ? That uni should be closed now because it is producing ill mannered students like comrade.

[ComradePashtun]

India commits to help Afghan security forces
(AFP) – 10 hours ago

NEW DELHI — India on Wednesday pledged to help strengthen the capabilities of Afghanistan's security forces after a meeting between the defence ministers of both countries in New Delhi.

Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony "conveyed the government of India's willingness to work with the Afghan government in building the capabilities of Afghan security forces," a statement said.

His Afghan counterpart Abdul Rahim Wardak is on a three-day visit to India accompanied by a seven-member team.

Afghan-Indian ties have raised hackles in Islamabad, where the Pakistani government and military establishment has long considered Afghanistan its own strategic asset to offset the perceived threat from India in the east.

India last month pledged $500 million in fresh aid to Afghanistan, raising New Delhi's contribution to $2 billion, to be spent mainly on development projects.

India's military assistance has so far been limited to training Afghanistan's security personnel and investing in small infrastructure projects.

Any greater involvement of Indian forces in Afghanistan would likely face objections from Pakistan, India's regional adversary.

President Hamid Karzai's government has stepped up training of Afghan troops ahead of the scheduled withdrawal of NATO troops by 2014 from the country, where the Islamist Taliban has waged an insurgency since 2001.

US-led international troops are due to start handing over control of security in limited areas to Afghan forces in July.

Wardak said ahead of his talks with Antony that Kabul welcomed Indian security assistance.

"We will welcome any cooperation in the field of training and helping of Afghan national security forces so that they are able to secure and defend the country," he told reporters, according to PTI news agency.

"There is a very genuine interest in strengthening our relations in all sectors including defence," said Wardak, the first top Afghan official to visit India since Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan by US troops on May 2.

After more than two decades without influence in Kabul, New Delhi swiftly established ties with Karzai's regime after the 2001 US-led invasion deposed the Taliban, which was allied to Pakistani elements.

[emkhan]

wardak is so happy being in India ... One day he will hand over his country to India.

[emkhan]

There should be no relation of pakhtuns with indian hindus...
I hate this relation. This relation will ruin pakhtuns one day.
your language is too bad.

[ComradePashtun]

emkhan you are a demented Paki Pathan! Why did Bacha Khan ally himself with Hindus? Are you more Pashtun or he was? You nut-job so called Pashtun should be the last one to tell us about our relation with any other country, your Paki Pashtuness is frankly becoming embarassingly too trite now. You idiot and uneducated fool.

I bet you can't even speak proper Pashtu.

[ComradePashtun]

Don't come on here with your Hindu-phobia. Not under our Pashtun name.