India to train Taliban officials for first time
Sandeep Dikshit
New Delhi, March 13
For the first time, India will hold an online four-day training programme for Afghan Foreign Ministry officials in Kabul from Tuesday. The news came out after the Taliban Government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a notice stating that the Indian embassy in Kabul will provide the training from March 14 to 17.
The move comes after National Security Adviser Ajit Doval in May at a conclave of regional NSAs in Tajikistan last year had advocated enhancing the capability of Afghanistan to counter terrorism and terrorist groups which pose a threat regional peace and security.
The memo by the Institute of Diplomacy, MOFA Afghanistan, says that the training programme for the Afghan officials revolves around the topic “immersing with Indian thoughts”.
The Indian offer to enrol Taliban Government officials was slightly disputed by official here who said it was part of Indian Technical and Economic Programme (ITEC) and is open to all eligible foreign government officials who wished to join it.
Sources said it was an online course and the Indian embassy in Kabul was not involved. India offers a large number of capacity building programmes for friendly countries through the ITEC run by MEA.
The ITEC said in a twitter post after the news broke that, “the eITEC course on “Immersing with Indian thoughts” for cross sectoral foreign delegates will provide a “deeper understanding of India’s business environment, cultural heritage and regulatory systems”.
The development comes a fortnight before Doval will host a meeting of SCO NSAs in which drug trafficking and rise in radicalism and terrorism in Afghanistan is likely to be one of the focus areas. Indian had reopened the embassy in Kabul last year and claims it only has a “technical staff” in place.
India has been focusing on connectivity and humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan. It has already provided 17,000 tonne of wheat out of a total commitment of 50,000 tonne, five lakh vaccine doses and 13 tonne of essential life-saving medicine.
It is now planning to send wheat again to Afghanistan but unlike last time, the route will be via the Chabahar port in Iran instead of sending it through road via Pakistan.
