Afghanistan–India relations

India and Afghanistan have been close for centuries. When India was a British colony, they were neighbors. They have cultural ties, particularly through Bollywood films and cricket.

During the 1980s, India was the sole nation in South Asia that backed Afghanistan's Soviet-aligned government. But their ties became weaker in the 1990s due to the Afghan civil war and Taliban rule. Subsequently, India assisted in overthrowing the Taliban and became the largest nation in the region to donate aid and assist in rebuilding Afghanistan. Indian laborers have been working on numerous construction projects to aid Afghanistan's growth.

India has been one of the greatest supporters of Afghanistan. In April 2017, Afghanistan's former ambassador to India, Shaida Mohammad Abdali, announced that India is the largest regional donor to Afghanistan and the world's fifth largest donor, having donated more than $3 billion in aid. India has constructed over 200 schools, gives more than 1,000 scholarships, and hosts more than 16,000 Afghan students. In 2011, India and Afghanistan signed a strategic partnership agreement, the first one since the Soviet-Afghan War. But soon after the Taliban occupied Afghanistan, numerous Afghan student visas were withdrawn.

In June 2021, a Qatari official reported that a delegation of Indians secretly met with Taliban leaders in Doha. This was a significant shift in Indian policy, and Qatar possibly facilitated the meeting. India, though, does not recognize the Taliban regime, which is known as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

In June 2022, India dispatched a "technical team" to its embassy in Kabul. In November 2023, pro-Republican Afghan diplomats departed India and shut down the embassy because of a lack of support. Later, with Zakia Wardak and Syed Muhammad Ibrahimkhel at the helm, the embassy reopened. Presently, Syed Muhammad Ibrahimkhel is in command as the Charge D'Affaires (CDA).

## Economy

India wished to expand its economic activity in Afghanistan, particularly as foreign forces were withdrawing by 2014. One of the main priorities was enhancing transport and trade links with Central and South Asia. India had already invested $10.8 billion in Afghanistan by 2012, and additional projects were anticipated after the withdrawal of NATO forces. These initiatives comprised the construction of iron ore mines, a steel mill (by SAIL), a power station, hydro-electric schemes, transmission lines for electricity, and highways. India assisted in reconstructing the Salma Dam in Herat province. The dam, alternatively known as the Indo-Afghan Friendship Dam, generates 42 MW of electricity and irrigates agricultural lands on 75,000 hectares in Chisti Sharif district.

India and Iran were going to sign a pact to ship cargo to Afghanistan, which does not have a coastline. India spent more than $100 million developing the Chabahar port in Iran to facilitate this. In a gesture of friendship, India constructed a new Parliament complex for Afghanistan, at a cost of ₹710 crore (approximately ₹11 billion or US$120 million in 2023). This complex opened on 25 December 2015. Because Pakistan refused India permission to use its territory to trade with Afghanistan, India and Afghanistan established two air corridors so that they can continue their trade.

### Financial and Material Aid

India has assisted Afghanistan in numerous ways. Prior to the Taliban assuming power in August 2021, India provided close to $3 billion in support for aid and reconstruction works. This encompassed constructing Afghanistan's Parliament building, the Salma Dam, schools, hospitals, power plants, and stadiums. India also supplied food such as wheat and pulses, medicines, etc.

India continued assisting even after the Taliban assumed power. India supplied 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in January 2022. India supplied 50 trucks of 2,500 metric tons of wheat as assistance in February 2022. India supplied 27 tons of emergency relief material after a severe earthquake in June 2022. India committed Rs 200 crores (approximately $24 million) in development assistance in February 2023. India committed to supplying 20,000 tons of wheat via Iran's Chabahar Port in March 2023.

As of 2023, there were nearly 14,000 Afghan students studying in India on scholarships from organizations such as the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).

#### New Parliament building

The construction of the new Afghan Parliament began in August 2005. The foundation stone was laid by the last king of Afghanistan, Zahir Shah. Hamid Karzai, who was the Afghan president then, and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also attended the event. India's Central Public Works Department (CPWD) assisted in planning the building, and the contract was awarded to an Indian company in 2008. The structure is located in Kabul's Darulaman area close to Amanullah Khan's Palace and Queen's Palace.

It cost $220 million to build and was due to be completed by 2012 but was postponed due to adverse working conditions, unavailability of skilled labor, and security issues. It was constructed by over 500 workers, the majority of them from India. The centerpiece is a gigantic bronze dome, 32 meters in diameter and 17.15 meters in height, and one of the largest in Asia. The central dome shades the assembly hall, and the smaller dome is situated over the entrance. The building also features a water facility consisting of nine fountains before the building. Within the building, a 20-foot-high green marble fountain imported from Udaipur, India, has been installed.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani officially inaugurated the new Parliament building on December 25, 2015.

### Afghan-India Friendship Dam

Salma Dam or the Afghan-India Friendship Dam is a hydroelectric and an irrigation dam constructed in Chishti Sharif District, Herat Province of Afghanistan. The dam is on the Hari River and was originally renamed to highlight good relations between Afghanistan and India. The dam produces 42 megawatts (MW) of power and irrigates 75,000 hectares of fields. This amounts to 35,000 hectares of land for irrigation already in place and 40,000 hectares of new land. The dam was inaugurated on June 4, 2016, by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

## Military

Since 2011, around 700 Afghans train in India every year in institutions such as the National Defence Academy, Indian Military Academy, Officers Training Academy, Infantry School in Mhow and the Counter-Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School in Mizoram.

### India in Afghanistan

India operates an Embassy in Kabul.

The Indian embassy and consulates in Afghanistan had been targeted by terrorists repeatedly.

India had evacuated its embassy in Afghanistan four times.

### Afghanistan in India

Afghanistan operated an Embassy in New Delhi and consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad.

Farid Mamundzay, the Ambassador of Afghanistan in India appointed by the erstwhile Ashraf Ghani government, however announced on September 30, 2023, closure of the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi. Hours later, Taliban – Afghanistan's new rulers, asked India to permit its Diplomats to operate in the country. In May 2023, the Taliban had appointed Mohammad Qadir Shah, it's chargé d'affaires in India. Qadir Shah was however physically stopped from even entering the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi by Farid Mamundzay and other embassy staffers.

## Related pages

- Hinduism in Afghanistan

## Further reading

- " My Enemy's Enemy: India in Afghanistan from the Soviet Invasion to the US Withdrawal" by Avinash Paliwal
- Marsh, Brandon. _Ramparts of Empire: British Imperialism & India's Afghan Frontier 1918–1948_ (2016)
- Pant, Harsh V. (2012). _India's Changing Afghanistan Policy: Regional and Global Implications_. Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College.
- India and Neighbors

## Infobox (bilateral relations)

- Indo-Afghan
- Afghanistan
- India
- **mission1**: None
- **mission2**: None