With the resurgence of the Taliban along the Durand Line that separates Pakistan and Afghanistan, Indians here are being told to stay away from southern Afghanistan which has become a danger zone.

Indian officials say the volatile south is a matter of concern and point to the latest suicide attack in Khost in which ten people were killed on Tuesday.

India has indicated that much will depend on NATO’s role and how effectively the US leans on Pakistan to check Taliban activity in the area. “If you want to tackle them (the Taliban) effectively, they must be controlled in the border area. That’s the work of NATO,” External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said while visiting Kabul, simultaneously signalling that Pakistan ought to show greater purpose.

Making the point that it was important to control the Taliban to secure Afghanistan’s future, Mukherjee said the re-emergence of the Taliban must be checked if the democratic process in Afghanistan has to be carried to its “logical conclusion.”

The Indians are aware that increased Taliban activity could also mean greater threat to the growing number of Indians in Afghanistan. In effect, they could be targeted. “The biggest threat to the Indians is kidnapping. We warn members of the Indian community where the danger lies,” an official said, referring to the killing of three Indians in recent months.

The danger zone lies along the 2,500 km common border that Afghanistan shares with Pakistan — and that includes Kandahar, Paktika, Khost, Nangarhar, Laghman, Kunar and Nuristan. In most of these areas, Indians have been involved in the country’s reconstruction.

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