Tazeen Akhtar
It is a news , eyes and ears opener, for Pakistanis and their safeguards that the Good Taliban Regime in Kabul has welcomed Afghan soldiers who have been trained in India. They were sent to Delhi by the ousted regime of Ashraf Ghani, a close friend and ally of India, for military training. The latest badge consists of 20 soldiers that landed at Kabul airport. Taliban’s Defense Ministry officials received the soldiers and embraced them into the ranks and files of Taliban Army.
India was giving 1000 slots for Afghan soldiers and officers till the Taliban took over Kabul in Mid Aug 2021. This made India the biggest country training the Afghans. More than 700 Afghan soldiers and officers were in India on the eve of Kabul Fall to Taliban.
Afghan Ministry of Defense has confirmed that the soldiers returned from India will be assigned different duties in the ministry. They are ready to serve Afghan people in any situation. In recent months, dozens of Afghan returned with military training from India Dehradoon. They were posted in Afghan Ministry of Defense.
Afghan Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs , Abbas Stanikzai is also trained from Indian Military. Hindustan Times confirms in a recent report. Abbas joined Afghan military in 1982 as lieutenant.
In Sep 2021, 180 Afghan military personnel were sent to India for training at different institutions. Most of them joined Indian Military Academy (IMA) at Dehradun, the Officers’ Training Academy (OTA) at Chennai and the National Defence Academy (NDA) at Khadakwasla in Pune.
In Feb 2022, 80 Afghan cadets graduated from Indian military academies were offered a 12-month training course under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme so that they can remain in India.They belonged to Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF). They were stranded in India after the Taliban takeover.
Picture : Earlier in July 2022, Taliban Ministry of Defense welcomed 25 Afghan soldiers sent to India by Ashraf Ghani regime. They received assurance from Taliban that they are safe on their return. They were accommodated in the ministry on different duties afterwards.
The warm welcome and postings in the ministry contradict Indian media reports of Afghan returning to Afghanistan are being subjected to harsh treatment like killings and disappearances.
Defence Minister Mullah Yaqub, son of Taliban founder Mullah Omar made it clear that Taliban have no issue with the Afghani troops’ training in India.
He said this, in June 2022, in an interview with India’s News 18 TV channel.Mullah Yaqub said they wanted to establish strong diplomatic relations with all countries including India. Then only we would be ready for defense relations. He made it clear that Taliban would not allow India to use its territory against Pakistan.
In Dec 2017, Afghanistan sent 20 women serving in combat division for military training in India. The 20-day training programme began on December 4 at Officers Training Academy in Chennai.
