Calls For Indian Military Intervention
According to some defence analysts, India should increase its military presence in Afghanistan not only to protect Indian projects and nationals there, but also to aid the coalition forces to improve the overall security situation in the war-torn country. Gurmeet Kanwal, head of the Center for Land Warfare Studies, said, "I would say the time has come to live up to our responsibility. If it involves military intervention, so be it." C. Raja Mohan, an Indian foreign policy analyst, urged India's government to increase military presence in Afghanistan and also added "Afghanistan needs to be stabilised. Pakistan needs to be stabilised. This requires more drastic remedies." In April 2008 Afghanistan's Defense Minister formally requested India's help in counter-insurgency operations during his visit to New Delhi. India has already provided large-scale military equipment to the Afghan National Army and has also given crucial intelligence inputs to the United States-led coalition forces. Several members of the Afghan army have undergone anti-terrorist training in India and in April 2007, the Indian Army also sent a delegation to set up an army training school in Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. In September 2007, India held a joint military exercise with the United Kingdom to train British forces in counter-insurgency operations, particularly those in Afghanistan. India also has an operational air force command at the Farkhor Air Base in neighbouring Tajikistan. Indian Express said in an editorial, "after the Kabul bombing, India must come to terms with an important question that it has avoided debating so far. New Delhi cannot continue to expand its economic and diplomatic activity in Afghanistan, while avoiding a commensurate increase in its military presence there. For too long, New Delhi has deferred to Pakistani and American sensitivities about raising India's strategic profile in Afghanistan." However, some analysts have feared that if India joins the United States-led coalition forces in Afghanistan, it would harm the soft power it has gradually built in the region as a result of the widespread popularity of Bollywood films and Indian television soaps among Afghans.
Read more about this topic: 2008 Indian Embassy Bombing In Kabul
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