New Delhi: Amid the rising presence of the Taliban in several states of Afghanistan, the Army Chief of Afghanistan has decided to visit India next week. People familiar with the development on Tuesday confirmed the three days visit of Afghan Army Chief Gen Wali Mohammad Ahmadzai to India.
The Afghan Army Chief is scheduled to arrive in India on July 27 and return in the first half of July 30. During a visit of Gen Ahmadzai, The New Delhi government and the Government of Afghanistan may sign strategic deals.
Gen Ahmadzai is scheduled to hold wide-ranging talks with the top Indian military brass including his counterpart Gen MM Naravane and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, they said.
Afghanistan has been reaching out to its key allies in seeking support to strengthen its security forces in the backdrop of the Taliban resorting to widespread violence to expand its influence across the country after the US began withdrawing troops from May 1.
According to the media report, India has provided at least five military helicopters to the war-ravaged country in the last few years, which has been trying to strengthen its air power. Afghanistan is struggling to get spare parts for aircraft and helicopters due to Western sanctions against Moscow.
Last month, President Ashraf Ghani appointed Gen Wali Mohammad Ahmadzai as the new chief of army staff, replacing Gen Yasin Zia.
The Afghan Army chief’s visit to India also comes in the midst of increasing strain in Kabul’s ties with Islamabad following the brief kidnapping of the daughter of Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan.
India has been a major stakeholder in the peace and stability of Afghanistan. It has already invested nearly USD 3 billion in aid and reconstruction activities in the country. India has also been supporting a national peace and reconciliation process which is Afghan-led, Afghan-owned, and Afghan-controlled.
International politics experts believe that India could be the only and strong option for the government of Afghanistan to fight the Taliban. After the US, there is no country except India, which wants peace and developments in Afghanistan.