India is one of Karzai’s few remaining champions. Delhi sees the new
Afghanistan as a part of its sphere of influence. It has four
consulates in Afghanistan and has given its government $1.2 billion in
aid: a remarkable sum for it to donate to a country that is 99 per
cent Muslim and with which it has no common border. Delhi has also put
up the new parliament building and chancery, and has helped to train
the army. India’s most ambitious – and, for Pakistan, most alarming –
Afghan project is a new highway that will provide a route to the
Iranian port of Chabahar. Not only will Afghanistan no longer need to
use Pakistani ports, the road’s destination is a clear indication of
India’s intention to consolidate an alliance with Iran in western
Afghanistan in order to counter Pakistan’s influence in eastern
Afghanistan. The road network, as they see it, is a new way to fight
an old war. It’s precisely in order to resist the India-Iran bloc – as
well as the emerging axis between Delhi and Washington. We don't seem
to be hearing very much about this. Any viwes from closer to the
ground?
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