I am shocked by the intemperate and unbecoming article ― Opportunists ready for Afghanistan ― by Joel Brinkley, said to be a professor of journalism at Stanford University, that appeared in your paper on Tuesday. The article betrays his appalling ignorance and bias to say the least.
India and Afghanistan enjoy civilizational ties. Since 2001, despite being a developing country herself with per capita income of around $1500 per annum, India has provided $2 billion worth of developmental and economic assistance to Afghanistan that is one of the highest in the world. It has been greatly appreciated by the people and the government of Afghanistan, as well as, the international community.
India’s assistance has extended to construction of highways, Parliament building, power transmission lines, hydro-electrical projects etc; providing educational, vocational and medical assistance; building transportation and communications networks; helping in human resources development, gender empowerment and self-employment for women; supply of food grain, fortified biscuits etc.
Indian projects and assistance, spread practically all over Afghanistan, have always responded to the priorities and request of the people and government of Afghanistan. To cite just one example, the 218 km highway from Zaranj to Delaram, cost hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of Indian and Afghan lives.
The natural gas pipeline that the author refers to in his article is a four-country ― Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (TAPI) ― initiative, which has been welcomed all over the world. It would provide energy and financial resources to Afghanistan besides meeting the energy requirements of India and Pakistan.
It is no surprise therefore that India enjoys a favourable rating of over 70 percent among the people in Afghanistan, that has been established in successive opinion polls conducted by independent Western agencies like Gallup and ABC-BBC-ARD. Clearly Joel Brinkley, because of his hidden agenda, has no qualms about willfully ignoring and falsifying facts.
By Muanpuii Saiawi
Muanpuii Saiawi is a second secretary at the Embassy of India in Seoul. ― Ed.
