Over two months after the killing of a Border Roads Organisation jawan and subsequent threats to some other Indians in Afghanistan, India is sending a large contingent of para-military forces, mainly commandos, to the war-torn country to ensure security of its nationals working there.
The central government has decided to send about 300 personnel of Indo-Tibetan Border Police to Afghanistan for security of the BRO personnel, working on construction of a highway in south of the country between Kandahar and Iran border, official sources told PTI in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Indians in Aghanistan: Fear is the key
Nearly 80 security personnel have already been dispatched and they have begun their duties, they said. The rest will be sent there shortly, the sources said, adding that training in this regard was being imparted to those detailed for the task.
A Commandant-rank officer is also likely be deputed to Afghanistan to oversee the security arrangements. Given the scenario in which protection has to be provided, the ITBP personnel deputed for the task are commandos, specially trained in proximate security, they said.
Till now, a minuscule ITBP contingent of about 20 personnel was posted in Kabul, mainly for protection of the Indian Embassy.
The decision to send the security personnel has been taken on the basis of a report submitted by a high-level team comprising officials of Ministries of External Affairs and Home Affairs, which assessed the threat perception to Indians working in Afghanistan.
The officials had been sent to Afghanistan shortly after the abduction-and-killing of BRO driver M R Kutty at the hands of the Taliban and threats issued to many Indians, working on various developmental projects there.
36-year-old Kutty was abducted on November 20 along with two locals when he was traveling in Kandahar province in South Afghanistan. His body was found three days later dumped by the roadside. The killers of Kutty had left a slip asking BRO to wind up its operations in Afghanistan and leave the country.
Kutty was among the nearly 300 BRO personnel engaged in construction of a 218-km long highway between Delaram and Zaranj in Kandahar Province. Being built by India at a cost of $80 million (Rs 3.6 crore approximately), the road will link Afghanistan's Garland Highway to the Iran border and onwards to the Chahbahar port in Iran, providing a shorter route between Afghanistan and Iran and cutting the distance drastically by 1000 km.
Less than a month after Kutty's killing, Taliban issued death threats to 10 Indians, including doctors, working at various hospitals under a humanitarian aid programme.
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