Afghanistan needs more arms from India to combat Islamist militants, Kabul's envoy in New Delhi has said. In the last 15 years, India has delivered economic assistance amounting to more than $2 billion to Afghanistan. The government, however, has been cautious in its approach of supplying arms to Afghanistan to avoid any backlash from Pakistan.
In 2015, India had announced that they will supply four attack helicopters to Afghanistan, marking it as India's first lethal weapon transfer to Kabul ever since the toppling of the Taliban movement. Three of the helicopters were immediately utilised by the Afghan government and were sent to combat insurgents. Another helicopter is set to be inducted in some weeks.
Now, the Afghan ambassador to India, Shaida Mohammad Abdali, has said that the security of the regional areas has been deteriorating and the forces are in desperate need of more arms and military supplies to combat the rising number of Islamist militant groups including ISIS and Taliban.
"We are grateful for the four helicopters. But we need more, we need much more. Today we are heading into a situation that is worrisome for everyone in the region including India," Abdali told Reuters.
The Afghan army chief, General Qadam Shah Shahim, is expected to arrive in New Delhi on Aug. 29 to present a list of military equipments required. It was formulated in consultation with the United States, according to Indian defence officials.
The list of equipments include, more combat helicopters, small helicopters for transporting medical facilities and troops, and some Russian-origin aircrafts.
