Background
During the United States-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, India offered intelligence and other forms of support to the coalition forces. After the overthrow of the Taliban, India established diplomatic relations with the newly-elected democratic government, provided aid and participated in Afghanistan's reconstruction efforts through the construction of roads, railways, electricity transmission lines, schools and hospitals. Indo-Afghan relations strengthened in the wake of Afghanistan's persisting tensions and problems with Pakistan, which is widely believed to shelter and support the Taliban. Both India and Afghanistan also developed strategic and military cooperation against the insurgency. India pursued a policy of close cooperation with Afghanistan in order to gain friendly influence in Central Asia as well as to keep a check on Kashmiri militants that it claims are operating from the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. India also provides training to Afghan National Army officers and military personnel at its training institutions, including the National Defence Academy and the School of Artillery at Devlali. India has also helped Afghanistan in "capacity-building" by training Afghan pilots and technicians in operating Russian-origin Mi-35 helicopter gunships. India is also a supplier of military parts for Soviet-era Afghan tanks and aircraft.
By 2007, India had pledged US$850 million to Afghan reconstruction efforts, the largest amount from any country without a military presence in Afghanistan, and later scaled up the aid to more than US$1 billion. India is currently the largest regional donor of humanitarian aid and reconstruction efforts in post-Taliban Afghanistan. About 3,000 Indians are estimated to be working on various reconstruction and developmental projects in Afghanistan, and they have often been subjected to attacks by Taliban insurgents. In November 2005, after an incident in which an Indian national was kidnapped and murdered, India deployed 200 soldiers of the elite Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) to provide security for Indian nationals and the projects supported by India. By 2008, ITBP's presence in Afghanistan was steadily increased to over 400 personnel.
India's growing influence in Afghanistan has upset Pakistan and other pro-Taliban elements. The Times said in an editorial that with the United States and other NATO members unwilling to sustain long-term commitments to Afghanistan, the Taliban see India as the only regional enemy capable of resisting them.
Read more about this topic: 2008 Indian Embassy Bombing In Kabul
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