India plans to train 30,000 Afghan soldiers


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NEW DELHI // India plans to fly 20,000 to 30,000 Afghan troops to training bases in India over the next three years and is expanding its presence in Afghanistan as US troops leave.

The US is reportedly eager for more countries to take on part of the US$12 billion (Dh44bn) training bill for the Afghan security forces, and is also running out of time, having set 2014 as the deadline for transferring combat duties to local troops.

With the Afghan government unwilling to let Pakistan take over any of the training, it has fallen to India to assume much of the burden.

A report in Jane's Defence Weekly this week says that up to 30,000 recruits will be flown to India for training in regimental centres across the north and east of the country as part of the strategic partnership signed between the two countries in October. The best soldiers will receive additional training at the army's Counter Insurgency Jungle Warfare School in the state of Mizoram.

Military sources also say the Afghan troops will be supplied with assault rifles and other small arms, with the possibility of later transferring "heavier weaponry such as rocket launchers, light artillery and even retrofitted Soviet T-55 tanks that the Indian Army is retiring".

Until recently, India had avoided military aspects of the Afghan conflict, preferring to focus on "soft power" projects such as road-building, electrification and the construction of the new parliament in Kabul.

But India has grown increasingly concerned about the quality of the Afghan National Army and its ability to combat the Taliban after the drawdown of Nato forces, despite being on track to meet its target strength of 240,000 troops by 2014.

"I detest these numbers that are put forward," said retired General Ravi Sawhney, an adviser to the Indian government. "Unless it is properly trained, cohesive, and has proper logistical support, this army risks turning into a mob.

"India has a clear interest in creating a stable Afghanistan, and we have the capacity and capabilities to train a large number of their troops."

India is also eyeing closer ties with Central Asian countries as it seeks strategic bases to ensure stability in the region.

It recently announced the reopening of a military hospital at Farkhor in Tajikistan, close to the Afghan border. The hospital was established by the Indian medical corps in the late 1990s as part of the extensive support India gave to Northern Alliance rebels fighting the Taliban regime.

It was here that the Northern Alliance commander Ahmed Shah Massoud was rushed after being attacked by suicide bombers just two days before the September 11 attacks. His death marked a severe blow for anti-extremist forces in Afghanistan.

The hospital was later abandoned and rumours that India would station military aircraft at another base in Tajikistan were never realised. Many in New Delhi's military circles feel it is time to re-establish a presence in the region.

"We need a footprint north of Afghanistan," said Ramesh Chopra, a former chief of Indian military intelligence, who is now an adviser to the government. "The hospital is a start, but we need to increase our presence without stepping on anyone's toes."

Others are quick to point out that India, famously cautious in its foreign policy, is unlikely to station any military assets in Central Asia.

"Tajikistan is extremely important to India strategically, and we are concerned about its vulnerability to terrorism and drug smuggling," said Meena Singh Roy, a Central Asia expert with the Institute for Defence and Security Analysis in New Delhi.

"But the hospital is part of India's soft power strategy - it is not part of the military cooperation."

foreign.desk@thenational.ae

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Friday (all kick-offs UAE time)

Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin (10.30pm)

Saturday

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Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen (5.30pm)

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Cologne v Fortuna Dusseldorf (8pm)

 

 

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• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”

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• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.

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Friday: First practice - 6am; Second practice - 10am

Saturday: Final practice - 7am; Qualifying - 10am

Sunday: Chinese Grand Prix - 10.10am

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Ruwais timeline

1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established

1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants

1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed

1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.  

1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex

2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea

2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd

2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens

2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies

2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export

2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.

2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery 

2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital

2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13

Source: The National

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MATCH INFO

Euro 2020 qualifier

Ukraine 2 (Yaremchuk 06', Yarmolenko 27')

Portugal 1 (Ronaldo 72' pen)