Cannot ignore the changes taking place in Afghanistan, says Pak army chief

AVA- Gen. Bajwa made the remarks while briefing the Pakistani Senate today but he did not elaborate further in this regard.

However, he said border manage is necessary to protect the Pak-Afghan border and in other parts of his speech he said the recent visits to neighboring countries had proved to help improve Pakistan’s ties with them.

This comes as Pakistan has long been criticizing and objecting regarding the presence of India in Afghanistan.

On the other hand, the US Department of Defense, its latest report, called India as Afghanistan’s most reliable regional partner and the largest contributor of development assistance in the region.

The report further adds that this assistance includes civil development projects such as the Afghanistan-India Friendship Dam and the Afghan parliament building.

According to Pentagon, India provides significant training opportunities for Afghan officers and enlisted personnel and has frequently offered to increase its burden sharing for Afghanistan. Approximately 130 Afghans travel to India each year to attend various military academy and commissioning programs.

“India has also donated limited security assistance, most notably four Mi-35 aircraft,” the report said, adding that “The new South Asia policy highlighted our relationship with India and called on India to provide more assistance to the international efforts in Afghanistan.”

“The United States welcomes additional Indian economic, medical, and civic support to Afghanistan,” the report concludes.