No need for Indian boots on Afghan soil, says Karzai

NEW DELHI: Afghanistan’s former president Hamid Karzai on Friday said that while India could still enhance defence cooperation with his country, there was no need for the presence of Indian troops on Afghan soil.

“Afghanistan does not need Indian military boots on its ground,” he said at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi. “In fact, we don’t need any boots on our ground.”

“[But] we need India to do more to strengthen the capacity of Afghanistan’s military forces,” he added.

Pointing out that India was already training Afghan military officers and civil servants, Karzai said: “India is also industrially, in terms of producing military equipment, well placed to fulfill Afghanistan’s needs.”

Thanking India for the help it has provided to Afghanistan so far, the ex-president hoped New Delhi would do more. “India is a cautious country. I hope over time, they will adopt a more proactive policy,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 22^nd, 2014.