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Modi Condemns Taliban Attack on Afghan Army Base, Vows to Help Injured

© AP Photo / Rahmat GulAfghan security forces respond to a Taliban-claimed suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, April 19, 2016.
Afghan security forces respond to a Taliban-claimed suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, April 19, 2016. - Sputnik International
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In his letter to Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated New Delhi’s support to Kabul in fighting terror. Experts said India should scale up its contribution to Afghanistan and actively engage with Russia, which has upped the great game in the country.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — In a series of tweets, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Gopal Baglay said that PM Modi has also offered all possible assistance for those injured in the Mazar-i-Sharif terror attack on April 21. The death toll has gone up to 140 in the attack.

Modi described the attack as “barbaric” and offered medical support to the victims. Since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, India has contributed more than $3 billion in relief and aid to Afghanistan.

In this Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015 photo, Afghan Taliban fighters listen to Mullah Mohammed Rasool, unseen, the newly-elected leader of a breakaway faction of the Taliban, in Farah province, Afghanistan - Sputnik International
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In recent years, India has even supplied military hardware to the Afghan government and that should be scaled up by India along with more active engagement with Russia, which is making outreach efforts for a negotiated settlement in the country.

“We should supply weapons, combat helicopters, more training to Afghan National Army," P. Stobdan, former diplomat and noted defense expert on Central Asia, told Sputnik. "We have so far done a lot in constructive civilian engagement, building roads, hospitals and many things. But we also need to focus on the military side of the conflict, where Afghans need crucial support. We also need to factor in Russian presence and influence in the country now and it is good our Defense Minister Arun Jaitley is visiting Moscow now and it will be followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s June visit to St. Petersburg conference. I hope that Afghanistan will feature in bilateral talks between leaders.”

Stobdan last served in Kyrgyzstan as India’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and is currently a Senior Fellow at New Delhi-based Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.

Afghan national Army (ANA) troops keep watch near the site of an ongoing attack on an army headquarters in Mazar-i-Sharif, northern Afghanistan April 21, 2017. - Sputnik International
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Taliban Attack on Afghan Army Base Death Toll Rises to Over 130
India needs to revamp its strategy in Afghanistan and avoid putting all eggs in one basket, like in the past, when New Delhi thought that aligning with the US alone could solve the problems, he said.

“We need to do an honest assessment of who are the major players in Afghanistan today. The US is there and it won’t leave it. But we also need to realize that Russia, along with China, has huge stakes in the country,” Stobdan said.

“The terrorist attack is a stark reminder of the need to immediately dismantle the safe havens and sanctuaries that support and sustain terrorism in Afghanistan from outside its borders,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement earlier.

The Taliban is suspected to be involved in the Mazar-i-Sharif attack of April 21, which took place as the Afghan National Army troops were at prayer, and therefore, unarmed.

Considered one of the deadliest attacks on Afghan security forces, it comes days after the US dropped its largest non-nuclear bomb in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province targeting Daesh terrorists.

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