India is working to increase security-related assistance to Afghan security forces. The commitment was made during President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani’s one-day visit to New Delhi. Last week, Afghanistan sent a group of women entrepreneurs to participate in the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in Hyderabad.
The First Time for Women Officers:
A batch of 20 Lady Officers from the Afghan Army and Afghan Air Force will be taking part in a rigorous training module at OTA, Chennai. This first batch of Afghan officers will be given a preparatory training program at the OTA along with officials from the Afghan defence ministry.
This preparatory training program will help them choose a fresh batch of women officers who will come in for full training modules from 2018.
According to a report, there are about 300 Afghan officers being trained in India at any given time. IMA trains the maximum of them.
Also the First Time for Tajik Armymen:
It is not the first time only for the Afghan lady officers this year, as 8 personnel from the Tajik National Army of Tajikistan are also undergoing training at the academy. This is the first time that Tajik personnel are also getting trained in the academy in the course that started in September 2017.
It can be recalled that the 1st women foreign cadet from Bhutan passed out last year following which 3 women cadets from the Bhutanese army are also getting trained now.
OTA Training Foreign Cadets:
From the year 1980-81, OTA started training foreign cadets, when around 74 Sri Lankan personnel were trained. Since then, more than 350 officers from foreign countries had undergone training at OTA. The foreign cadets who are sent to OTA are among the best from their countries.
Since language is a barrier, additional English classes are conducted for these cadets alongside the regular course.
Some of the countries which send their personnel in OTA for training are:
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Afghanistan
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Bhutan
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Papua New Guinea
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Uganda
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Lesotho
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Seychelles
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Maldives
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Fiji
India’s Role in Rebuilding Afghanistan:
Since the fall of the Taliban regime, India has invested over $2 billion in various projects. India has pledged an extra $1 billion including 116 small development projects in Afghanistan.
Some of the reconstruction and infrastructure projects by India in Afghanistan are:
- Construction of the major Salma Dam
- Afghan Parliament Building
- Zaranj-Delaram highway
President Ashraf Ghani said that the Afghan government will continue to use the economic opportunities provided by India for the development of the country.
Pakistan’s Opposition:
There has been a long opposition from Pakistan over India’s presence in Afghanistan even after Afghan officials have repeatedly rejected these protests.
Consoling Pakistan, President Ashraf Ghani comforted that Afghan government has no hidden deal with any country and no country will be allowed to use the Afghan soil against its neighbours.
Pakistan also Trains Afghan Officers:
Pakistan has also begun training personnel of the Afghanistan Army lately. 6 cadets of the Afghan National Army passed out from Pakistan Military Academy in Abbottabad some 2 to 3 years back. The cadets were graduated from the Pakistan Military Academy after going through almost 18 months of training.
Ironically, Osama bin Laden was found to be hiding in the very same city by the United States Navy Seals.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have been cooperating lately in the wake of the school attack in Peshawar, which killed over 150 people.
