India and Afghanistan are set to qualitatively transform their ties by upgrading the relationship to a strategic level during Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs visit to Kabul today. This,by definition,opens the doors for security cooperation. It is learnt that Singh and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai will agree on a strategic vision document that would provide the political underpinnings of the expanding relationship built around the theme of the worlds largest democracy partnering the worlds youngest democracy. While specific details are yet to be firmed up,the two countries are expected to denounce the presence of terror safe havens outside their boundaries that is detrimental to the security of both countries. This,in the context of the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan,could prove to be an important political signal. On the eve of his departure,the Prime Minister,in fact,said: I look forward to wide ranging discussions with President Hamid Karzai and the Afghan leadership on ways to advance our partnership to a new level in the coming years. Both sides are being careful not to project this in a manner that provokes Pakistan. There is an increasing interest from Kabul on more training assistance to the fledgling Afghan police. The police remains a relatively neglected area given that most of the attention is on the Afghan National Security Forces. In particular,there is special interest in raising women police battalions,much on the lines of the Indian women police forces who served as part of the UN peacekeeping forces in Congo. Several such proposals are on the table,sources said. India has not received any specific request from Karzai himself on the military front. While there have been feelers from several quarters,New Delhi is clear that it will not entertain a serious conversation on these sensitive issues until the Afghan President personally makes the request. Singh will address the Afghan parliament to show Indias solidarity with Afghan democracy. India is constructing Afghanistans new parliament building. Initial plans to have the PM travel to another part of Afghanistan like Herat do not appear to have materialised. Singh will make many announcements like upgrading the Indira Gandhi Hospital in Kabul,contributing 1,000 buses for city transport across Afghanistan,and adding to Indias reconstruction assistance for Afghanistan. While India contributes $1.3 billion,an escalation in the cost of projects like the Salma dam has meant that the amount has already touched $1.5 billion. This will be Singhs second visit to Afghanistan,nearly six years after the first in 2005. The event is likely to be high on symbolism,with a large part of the content kept under wraps.
