New Delhi, May 11
As tension mounts between the USA and Pakistan in the wake of Osama bin Laden’s killing, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is leaving for Afghanistan tomorrow on a two-day trip to reassure the Hamid Karzai Government of New Delhi’s commitment to help stabilise the situation there.

In a statement on the eve of his departure, the PM asserted that India could not remain unaffected by developments in Afghanistan, emphasising that New Delhi took a long-term view of its partnership with the embattled country.

“The quest of the Afghan people for peace, stability and reconciliation needs the full support of all countries in the region and the international community,’’ he said.

The PM said he looked forward to wide-ranging discussions with the Afghan leadership on ways to advance India’s partnership to a new level in the coming years. “We will also exchange views on developments in the region and our common fight against the scourge of terrorism.’’

The visit is taking place three days after Singh discussed with US President Barack Obama on phone the situation in the region in the aftermath of the killing of the Al-Qaida chief deep inside Pakistan. The visit was initially scheduled to take place in the first week of May but the American side had apparently advised New Delhi to postpone it without disclosing anything about the impending action by US forces in Abbottabad (Pakistan) in which bin Laden was killed.

Official sources were quite optimistic about the PM’s visit to Kabul during which he is expected to announce a multi-million dollar aid package for Afghanistan to step up India’s reconstruction activities in the battle-scarred nation. India has become a key ally of the Afghan Government since the fall of the Taliban regime, spending more than $ 1.3 billion in Afghanistan to help build highways, hospitals and the electricity grid. It is now the sixth largest contributor to Afghanistan’s reconstruction programme.

“We want a peaceful, democratic, stable and prosperous Afghanistan…we will reassure the Afghan leadership of our commitment to help stabilise the situation there,’’ the sources added.

Singh’s visit comes at a time when the U.S. faces increasing pressure to withdraw troops following the killing of bin Laden, leaving Afghanistan more reliant on the help of regional allies. India, however, has reservations about any hasty withdrawal by coalition forces from the embattled nation. New Delhi is also concerned about attempts being made to reintegrate the Taliban into the mainstream of the Afghan society. It has already told the Karzai government that any moves at reconciliation with the Taliban should take into account the red lines drawn at the donors’ conference on Afghanistan held in London in January last year. It must be ensured that only those Taliban cadre who were willing to eschew violence, adhere to the Afghan constitution and cut links with the Al-Qaida were considered for reconciliation.

Meanwhile, New Delhi is quite satisfied that Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmed Davutoglu invited India too for a breakfast meeting in Istanbul yesterday on Afghanistan in a bid to create a synergy among its neighbours and surrounding countries. Apart from India which was represented by Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, the meeting saw high-level representations by Afghanistan, China, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and the UAE.