New Delhi
1 May 2006
Little over a year after India began interacting with the leadership of
Afghanistan as mandated under the Bonn Agreement of December 2001, two Indian
engineers working on a road project in the Zabul province were kidnapped. The duo were
hired by Hyderabad-based companies to execute a highway reconstruction project. They
were released 19 days later but not before the protracted negotiations between the tribal
leaders and the Taliban.
On 28 April 2006, another engineer from Hyderabad was kidnapped by unidentified
gunmen in Hassan Kared area of Shah Joy district in the southern Afghan province of
Zabul. Kasula Suryanarayana was travelling from Kalat-i-Ghilzai, capital of Zabul, to
Ghazni when he and his driver were kidnapped on the main highway linking Kabul to the
southern city of Kandahar, which was a hub of the Taliban regime till its ouster. He was
subsequently beheaded.
Between 2003 and now, the lives of the Indian nationals working in Afghanistan have
virtually been at the mercy of God or the Taliban, with little or no institutional support
from either the Government of India or their respective employers. The few hundred Indo
Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel who guard the Indian workers today were
dispatched only after Border Roads Organisation (BRO) driver Maniappan Raman Kutty
was killed in November last year.
According to a Stratfor report, there has been an upsurge of activity -- both by coalition
military forces and jihadists -- along the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan in recent
days. "This is partly due to the spring thaws, which traditionally mark the beginning of
the combat season in the region -- and indeed, US-led forces in Afghanistan have
launched a fresh offensive, Operation Mountain Lion, in Afghanistan's Kunar province," it
says.
Observing that "more seems to be afoot in the region than the anticipated military
offensives," the Stratfor report adds, "Specifically, several men have been murdered
recently -- at least four of them beheaded -- on the belief that they were collaborating with
the Americans, and some of the bodies had notes pinned to their clothing labeling them
as American spies. On the whole, the rhythm of activity this year seems to have a
different beat."
Suryanarayana was one of about three thousand Indian nationals working in Afghanistan
on various infrastructure development projects. He was employed by Bahrain's Al-
Moayed company for executing a project for Roshan, a private telecom company.
Incidentally, the chairman of AK Al-Moayed Group, Mr Khalid Al-Moayed, was in India last
week. He led a Bahrain Business Men's Association delegation to press for finalisation
of Gulf Cooperation Council-India Free Trade Agreement.
India's involvement in Afghanistan started soon after the ouster of the Taliban and the
establishment of the Interim Administration of Afghanistan in November 2001. "We have
supported the reconstruction effort in Afghanistan by providing extensive humanitarian,
financial and project assistance .... We have undertaken, in partnership with Afghan
Government, projects over a wide range of sectors covering virtually all parts of
Afghanistan," reads a policy brief.
Despite the recent setbacks, Indian companies and corporates are queueing up to make
a foray into Afghanistan. The Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce lists several such
companies on its website. Kabul has since begun wooing Indian companies with tax
benefits and a promise to enter unexplored markets. During his recent visit, President
Hamid Karzai invited Indian companies to use Afghanistan as a launching pad for their
products in Central Asia.
The Indian assistance to Afghanistan includes food assistance of one million tonnes of
wheat, a part of which is being converted into high protein biscuits for School Feeding
Programme in Afghanistan and supplied through World Food Programme. The Power
Grid Corporation is constructing the New Delhi-funded 220KV Double Circuit
Transmission Line from Pul-e-Khumri to Kabul and a 220/110/20KV Sub-station at Kabul
in Afghanistan.
Another project is the reconstruction of Zaranj-Delaram road at an estimated cost of Rs
377.47 crore. The 218-km-road in southwestern Afghanistan will provide an additional
outlet to sea via Iran. It is being executed by Border Roads Organisation. Then there is
the reconstruction and completion of Salma Dam Power Project in Herat at an estimated
cost of Rs 351.87 crore. The New Delhi-based Water and Power Consultancy Services
(India) Ltd (WAPCOS) is executing the project.
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