Whole world is watching the surreal incidents and news coming in from Afghanistan after Taliban seized control over the entire nation.Till this point Indian government haven’t spoken about their stance on the current undertakings while its sure that all of India’s future relations with Afghanistan seems jittery.
India’s Investments In Afghanistan
Over the past two decades, since the US-Nato forces entered the region to help Afghanistan fight the Taliban, India has helped rebuild civic infrastructure and certainly India will be the one largely affected by this Taliban takeover due to its two decade long heavy investments in the country which closes nearly $3billion in infrastructure and all round development in Afghanistan.
Some of India’s high-profile projects in Afghanistan are:
Zaranj-Delaram highway: A 218-km long highway, with an estimated cost of around $150 million, has been built by India’s Border Roads Organisation near Afghanistan’s border with Iran. The highway holds strategic importance for India as it provides an alternative route into Afghanistan through Iran’s Chabahar port after Pakistan denied India overland access to trade with Afghanistan.
Stor Palace: In 2016, India along with the Aga Khan Trust helped revamp a 19th-century monument known as Stor Palace in Kabul. The 100-year old building served as the office of the Afghan foreign ministry until 1965.
Salma Dam: Also known as the Afghan-India Friendship Dam project, the Salma dam in Herat province was completed against all odds including several attacks from the Taliban and was inaugurated in 2016. With an estimated cost of around $275 million, this is one of the most expensive infrastructure projects by India in the region.
Power infrastructure: Another relevant contribution by India includes the revamp of power infrastructure, which includes a high-voltage direct-current line from Baghlan to the north of Kabul.Besides, in 2020 at the Geneva conference, India also announced an additional 100 community development projects worth $80 million along with the construction of the Shahtoot Dam in the Kabul district. The dam was supposed to provide safe drinking water to 2 million residents.
Afghanistan Parliament building:As its contribution to the establishment of democratic institutions in Afghanistan, India committed to construct the new Parliament building in Kabul. Its foundation stone was laid by Baba-e-Millat, Zahir Shah, in the presence of the President of Afghanistan and the Prime Minister of India in 2005 and was completed within 36 months.
Looking at the present conditions; Indian government will have to come up with a viable solution to sustain the bilateral ties as its relations with the Taliban is not something which can be resurrected easily.
