India begins training Afghan commandos as ties deepen ahead of 2014

AVERAGE INDIAN

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By Sanjeev Miglani

NEW DELHI, Dec 20 (Reuters) - - India is training a group of Afghan special forces in the deserts of Rajasthan, army officials said on Friday, deepening its involvement with Afghanistan as its military prepares to secure the country after NATO's withdrawal in 2014.

Afghan military officers have been attending courses in India for years, but this is the first time members of its special forces have held joint exercises with Indian commandos.

Afghanistan has been pressing India for military equipment including helicopters, tanks and field guns as well as greater involvement in the training of Afghan forces as foreign troops withdraw, leaving the Afghan military to deal with a resilient Taliban insurgency.

India has stalled on Afghanistan's wish-list of heavy weapons for fear of provoking Pakistan, as well as armed groups in Afghanistan. But on training, it has begun to play a bigger role as Afghan forces prepare to go it alone.

Nearly 60 members of the Afghan special forces began training with the Indian army's 10 Para brigade early this month at their hub in Jodhpur, in Rajasthan state's Thar desert.

"The focus of the training is on conduct of counter insurgency and counter terrorism operations, with special emphasis on operations in built-up areas and rural areas in a realistic environment," Colonel S.D.Goswami, a defence spokesman said.

The Afghan special forces, which the United States helped set up, are expected to be the spearhead of the fight against the Taliban.

The training in Rajasthan is focused on carrying out operations with minimum civilian casualties and of other so-called collateral damage, another Indian army officer said.

AVOIDING CASUALTIES

Indian commandos deployed in trouble spots such as the Himalayan region of Kashmir had over the decades succeeded in bringing down civilian casualty rates, he said.

"We have just been in this game for a longer time, and bombing a home whether in Kashmir or the northeast is just not part of our operating procedure."

Civilian casualties in anti-Taliban operations in Afghanistan have deepened resentment of U.S. forces, and in turn, fuelled the insurgency.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who was in Delhi last week, is refusing to sign a security agreement that would allow the United States to keep a limited number of troops in Afghanistan beyond 2014, saying it must immediately stop raids on Afghan homes as a condition.

Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch, a former commander of Indian special forces, said joint commando training is to be expected as military ties with Afghanistan deepened.

"We do it with friends, we have done it with the Americans, its quite natural," he said.

India, which has built close ties with Karzai's administration and has invested $2 billion in aid and reconstruction, is concerned that an unstable Afghanistan would become a haven for Pakistan-backed militant groups.

Last month, it held training for special forces from Tajikistan, which is to the north of Afghanistan.

India begins training Afghan commandos as ties deepen ahead of 2014
 

jmj_overlord

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Re: India begins training Afghan commandos as ties deepen ahead of 201

India has stalled on Afghanistan's wish-list of heavy weapons for fear of provoking Pakistan, as well as armed groups in Afghanistan. But on training, it has begun to play a bigger role as Afghan forces prepare to go it alone.
why fear of provoking pakis i wonder ? all they do is provoke us by cross border attacks, terror exports, etc etc............this might be a chance for us
 

Deccani

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Re: India begins training Afghan commandos as ties deepen ahead of 201

why fear of provoking pakis i wonder ? all they do is provoke us by cross border attacks, terror exports, etc etc............this might be a chance for us
The most dangerous card which the Pakistanis establishment use against India is the religious card . India should repel Article 370 and let Indian Muslims to settle in Kashmir valley , When Kashmiri's can come and settle anywhere in India then why cant Indians can go and settle in Kashmir . That time it would be a good answer not only to the separatists but even to the Pakistani establishment .
 

pmaitra

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Re: India begins training Afghan commandos as ties deepen ahead of 201

why fear of provoking pakis i wonder ? all they do is provoke us by cross border attacks, terror exports, etc etc............this might be a chance for us
because we have some numb skulls in Delhi with shitty strategic and foreign policies :p
In principle, we should give heavy weapons to the Afghans. In reality though, there is still desertion going on in the Afghan military. We do not want sophisticated weapons supplied by us end up with the insurgents, or end up being used against us in Kashmir.

Military aid should be increased gradually, and the Afghan military has to demonstrate it can keep its ranks from deserting and holding up against the Pak-sponsored insurgents.
 

Deccani

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Re: India begins training Afghan commandos as ties deepen ahead of 201

In principle, we should give heavy weapons to the Afghans. In reality though, there is still desertion going on in the Afghan military. We do not want sophisticated weapons supplied by us end up with the insurgents, or end up being used against us in Kashmir.
Afghans are already having enough weapons including sophisticated weapons


From hundreds of Humvees and Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected Vehicles (MRAPs) to lakhs of anti-tank missiles and machine guns, US troops deployed in Afghanistan will leave behind all their war-fighting equipment when they leave the country as part of the 2014 pullout plan.

The military hardware the US would leave behind in Afghanistan is large enough to equip a sizeable army. Up to 30,000 MRAPS and Humvees, night-combat equipment, grenade-resistant netting, light and medium machine guns, rocket launchers and mobile radars among others.

If the US is to lug everything back, it will need 28,000 vehicles and 20,000 shipments. And the cost of ferrying the equipment to the US will be a staggering $6 billion, which obviously doesn't make economic sense. Hence the decision to dump it in Afghanistan.
US pullout from Afghanistan could pose security crisis for India as America plans to dump weapons and military hardware | Mail Online



Military aid should be increased gradually, and the Afghan military has to demonstrate it can keep its ranks from deserting and holding up against the Pak-sponsored insurgents.
India is already investing in Afghanistan in billions and what Afghans need here is to develop instead of fighting among each other . Taliban even doesn't consider India as enemy nor India is enemy of Muslims .
 

AVERAGE INDIAN

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Re: India begins training Afghan commandos as ties deepen ahead of 201

Despite reservations, India mulls plan to send defence experts, army officers to Afghanistan

The Indian government is considering a proposal to dispatch experts and army officers to Kabul to train the Afghan National Army (ANA) in their home conditions ahead of the drawdown of US-led forces in 2014.

At present, the army provides training to ANA in India on counter-terrorism operations, military field craft, intelligence, counter-improvised explosive devices (IEDs), information technology, battle-field nursing assistance and English language.

"In view of the withdrawal of US-led forces from Afghanistan in 2014, we need to train the ANA on a priority basis. A proposal has been moved to send first batch of our experts and offices to Afghanistan to give training to ANA in their backyard and home conditions. Training in their locations and terrain would given them an edge as compared to training here in Indian conditions,"an officer told dna.

However, the defence ministry is apprehensive about the safety and security of its men there, keeping in view of the killing of three officers of the Army's Education Corps in Kabul in February 2010. The officers had gone there to teach English to Afghan troops.

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai in his four day visit here last week assured New Delhi about the safety and security of Indian officers in the war-torn country.

Following Karzai's assurance, the ministry of defence moved a proposal to send a batch of officers to Afghanistan comprising officers from various corps such as artillery, intelligence, signal, aviation and education corps. Sources in the ministry of defence claim that the proposal has to be cleared from the Cabinet Committee on Security(CCS) headed by the prime minister.

The Indian Army has already decided to double the number of Afghan National Army personnel who come here for training. According to the army, it is targeting to train about 1,100 Afghan troops by the end of 2014, as compared to 574 personnel trained last year.

Meanwhile, New Delhi has not taken any concrete decision on Karzai's wish list for lethal weapons, which include battle tanks, field guns, mortars, military aircraft and trucks — needed for Afghan security forces. However, an agreement to send three Indian-made transport helicopters to Afghanistan has been made and the delivery will be made by early next year.

"We need to take a decision on supply of military hardware quickly. Once the US-led forces depart Afghanistan, other Asian countries would make their footprints in the strategically located country," a military strategist said.

dna special: Despite reservations, India mulls plan to send defence experts, army officers to Afghanistan - India - DNA
 

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