India all for MFN status to Kabul, says Lambah

BANGALORE, JANUARY 7: India was in favour of extending the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to Afghanistan, India’s special envoy for Afghanistan, S.K. Lambah, said here today.

Lambah told reporters here that if Afghanistan wanted to join South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and meets the criteria in that context, India would definitely support its candidature.
Noting that New Delhi had offered US $ 100 million line of credit to the war-ravaged nation, he said India would establish six schools and six polyclinics in different cities of Afghanistan in the next few months.India, Lambah said, would start an information technology institute in Afghanistan, offer scholarships and also help revive the Kabul University. Afghanistan had sought India’s help in the areas of education, health, agriculture and IT, he said.

Talks were on with a couple of airlines to start civilian flights between India and Afghanistan, he said, adding that it would be a reality once Kabul airport was repaired and US sanctions against that country lifted. (PTI)