ID :
76119
Thu, 08/20/2009 - 09:04
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/76119
The shortlink copeid
Indian developmental efforts in Afghanistan irking Pakistan'
Lalit K Jha
Washington, Aug 19 (PTI) The developmental efforts
undertaken by India to help rebuild a war-ravaged Afghanistan
have stirred concerns in neighbouring Pakistan, a media report
said Wednesday.
Post-Taliban, New Delhi has pledged USD 1.2 in aid to
Afghanistan, making India the fifth largest donor nation to
the country after the US, Britain, Japan and Canada.
Pakistan does not rank in the top 10, The Wall Street
Journal wrote Wednesday in a piece titled "India Befriends
Afghanistan, Irking Pakistan".
After shunning Afghanistan during the Taliban regime,
India has become a major donor and a new friend to the
democratic government -- even if its growing presence here
riles arch rival Pakistan, it said.
From wells and toilets to power plants and satellite
transmitters, India is seeding Afghanistan with a vast array
of projects, the daily said.
The USD 1.2 billion in pledged assistance includes
projects both vital to Afghanistan's economy, such as a
completed road link to Iran's border, and symbolic of its
democratic aspirations, such as the construction of a new
parliament building in Kabul.
The Indian government is also paying to bring scores of
bureaucrats to India, as it cultivates a new generation of
Afghan officialdom, it said.
"We are here for the same reason the US and others are
here -- to see a stable, democratic, multi-ethnic
Afghanistan," Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan Jayant Prasad
was quoted as saying by The Wall Street Journal.
Pakistan has however said it was not worried about
Indian assistance to Afghanistan, but wants adherence to a
policy of non-interference.
"We recognise that Afghanistan needs development
assistance from every possible source to address the daunting
challenges it is facing. We have no issue with that," says
Pakistani foreign-ministry spokesman Abdul Basit.
"What Pakistan is looking for is strict adherence to the
principle of noninterference," he told the daily.
The newspaper said for years, Pakistan refused to allow
overland shipment of fortified wheat biscuits from India to
feed two million Afghan schoolchildren.
India instead had to ship the biscuits through Iran,
driving up costs for the programme.
The World Food Program, which administers the shipments,
said the Pakistan government gave its approval for overland
shipment in 2008 -- six years after the first delivery.
"Why did it take six years ... is something that WFP
cannot answer," a spokesman for the aid organisation said,
adding: "However, we are indeed thankful to the government of
Pakistan for allowing transit for the fortified biscuits".
Basit, the foreign-ministry spokesman, did not respond
to a question about the Indian food assistance, wrote The Wall
Street Journal. PTI LKJ
DDC
Washington, Aug 19 (PTI) The developmental efforts
undertaken by India to help rebuild a war-ravaged Afghanistan
have stirred concerns in neighbouring Pakistan, a media report
said Wednesday.
Post-Taliban, New Delhi has pledged USD 1.2 in aid to
Afghanistan, making India the fifth largest donor nation to
the country after the US, Britain, Japan and Canada.
Pakistan does not rank in the top 10, The Wall Street
Journal wrote Wednesday in a piece titled "India Befriends
Afghanistan, Irking Pakistan".
After shunning Afghanistan during the Taliban regime,
India has become a major donor and a new friend to the
democratic government -- even if its growing presence here
riles arch rival Pakistan, it said.
From wells and toilets to power plants and satellite
transmitters, India is seeding Afghanistan with a vast array
of projects, the daily said.
The USD 1.2 billion in pledged assistance includes
projects both vital to Afghanistan's economy, such as a
completed road link to Iran's border, and symbolic of its
democratic aspirations, such as the construction of a new
parliament building in Kabul.
The Indian government is also paying to bring scores of
bureaucrats to India, as it cultivates a new generation of
Afghan officialdom, it said.
"We are here for the same reason the US and others are
here -- to see a stable, democratic, multi-ethnic
Afghanistan," Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan Jayant Prasad
was quoted as saying by The Wall Street Journal.
Pakistan has however said it was not worried about
Indian assistance to Afghanistan, but wants adherence to a
policy of non-interference.
"We recognise that Afghanistan needs development
assistance from every possible source to address the daunting
challenges it is facing. We have no issue with that," says
Pakistani foreign-ministry spokesman Abdul Basit.
"What Pakistan is looking for is strict adherence to the
principle of noninterference," he told the daily.
The newspaper said for years, Pakistan refused to allow
overland shipment of fortified wheat biscuits from India to
feed two million Afghan schoolchildren.
India instead had to ship the biscuits through Iran,
driving up costs for the programme.
The World Food Program, which administers the shipments,
said the Pakistan government gave its approval for overland
shipment in 2008 -- six years after the first delivery.
"Why did it take six years ... is something that WFP
cannot answer," a spokesman for the aid organisation said,
adding: "However, we are indeed thankful to the government of
Pakistan for allowing transit for the fortified biscuits".
Basit, the foreign-ministry spokesman, did not respond
to a question about the Indian food assistance, wrote The Wall
Street Journal. PTI LKJ
DDC
