Air India security in Kabul beefed up

New Delhi, Mar 14 (PTI) With Indians and assets in
Afghanistan coming under constant attack from Taliban and Al
Qaeda, Air India has beefed up security in flights to and from
Kabul following information that it was a "sitting duck" for
terror groups.
While the airline officials declined to speak on the
issue, sources in the national carrier said that a two-tier
security mechanism has been put in place which carries out
extensive check of all the baggages loaded into the aircraft.
The flag carrier, which is one of the few international
airlines that operates to Kabul, six times a week with
virtually full load, has been spotted as by international and
Indian agencies a "sitting duck" for terror groups like
Taliban, Al Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Finding that screening continued to be "lax",
intelligence agencies have told Indian authorities that extra
steps needed to be taken for ensuring safety of passengers as
terror groups were planning either to hijack its aircraft or
smuggle some explosives in the luggage, if the screening
continued to be lax.
The screening of the baggage is being done by a local
Afghan agency and now Air India has included another tier of
security where its security staff carry out screening of the
luggage of all the passengers, the sources said.
A report emanating from the war-ravaged country shows
terror groups were attempting to penetrate into the ground
handling agency of Air India, an information which has been
shared with the Afghan Civil Aviation Authorities as well.
The Air India aircraft also carry air marshals on board
and have a special contingent for the security of the plane
while on tarmac at the Kabul International airport.

Air India has the distinction of carrying all the United
Nations staff to Kabul. Besides the Indian carrier, Pakistan
International Airlines and a private afghan airlines operate
from the Kabul International Airport.
Seven Indians, including three major-rank Army officers,
were killed when Taliban suicide bombers carried out a string
of attacks in the heart of Kabul on February 26, in yet
another incident targeting Indian interests in Afghanistan.
The Indian assets in Afghanistan have been a constant
cause of worry and efforts were set afoot to provide security
to its nationals prompting the government to rework the
security plan for its citizens working there.
The government has already augmented presence of security
personnel by pooling in 40 additional ITBP (Indo Tibetan
Border Police) commandos to secure its people and
installations in the war-hit country.
They will be deployed in the Indian missions, a few
others would be stationed in guest houses frequently used by
Indians involved in development work.
About 4,000 Indians are engaged in reconstruction
projects in health, power, roads and social sector across
Afghanistan under the USD 1.3 billion assistance programme.
India has already halted operations of its medical
mission in Kabul because of lack of adequate personnel as one
of its 11 members was killed and four others injured. PTI SKL
MYR