BackIndian consulate attacked in Afghanistan; Narendra Modi calls ambassador
There were no casualties among Indian staff, but at least one policeman was wounded when four gunmen attacked
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New Delhi/Herat, Afghanistan: Prime minister-elect Narendra Modi called the Indian ambassador in Kabul to “bolster the morale" of Indian staff in Afghanistan after Taliban terrorists launched a pre-dawn gun attack on India’s consulate in the western city of Herat on Friday before being killed by security forces.
There were no casualties among Indian staff, but at least one policeman was wounded when the four gunmen stormed a house close to the consulate and opened fire on the building.
“Four Taliban attackers entered a residential house behind the consulate in the early morning," Mohammad Yousuf Pashtoon, commander of Herat’s paramilitary Quick Reaction Force, told AFP.
“Security forces evacuated residents from the building and fought to clear the building." The interior ministry said all the insurgents had been killed but sporadic gunfire continued at the scene.
“One gunman was shot by the ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police) while they were trying to breach the consulate," Indian foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin told the news channel NDTV.
He added that Indian and Afghan security forces had been “successful in rebutting this attack".
Modi called up Indian ambassador Amar Sinha, a foreign ministry official said. In a post on his Twitter account, Modi said: “I condemn the attack on our consulate in Herat, Afghanistan. Closely monitoring the situation. I have spoken to the Ambassador as well."
Pakistani security forces have often been accused of assisting Taliban terrorists, especially with attacks on Indian targets in Afghanistan, but on Friday the Pakistan high commission in New Delhi swiftly condemned the attack.
“Pakistan condemns the reported gunmen attack on the Consulate General of India in Herat today (on Friday) and reiterates its condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. No cause justifies targeting of diplomatic missions. It is a matter of relief that no one from the Consulate staff was hurt," the high commission said.
President Pranab Mukherjee in a statement commended “the bravery shown by all Indian and Afghan staff members of the Consulate", and expressed “gratitude to the Afghanistan security forces for having quickly responded to the situation and come to the assistance of the Consulate ensuring the safety of our staff and officers."
The assault highlighted instability as Nato troops from the US and other Western nations withdraw from Afghanistan, which is in the middle of elections to choose a successor to President Hamid Karzai, who has ruled since the fall of the 1996-2001 Taliban regime.
India has been a key supporter of Kabul’s post-Taliban government, and analysts have often pointed to the threat of a “proxy war" in Afghanistan between India and Pakistan.
The Taliban did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack, which came after Modi invited Pakistan premier Nawaz Sharif to his inauguration in Delhi next week.
Terrorists target India
Afghanistan has seen a flare-up in violence ahead of the second-round run-off presidential election on 14 June, with 16 policemen killed in a series of attacks in the space of 24 hours earlier this week.
Providing security for the election is a key test for Afghan police and soldiers, with all Nato combat troops due to pull out of the country by December after more than a decade fighting the Taliban.
Friday’s assault against the consulate in Herat is the latest in a long line of attacks against Indian targets in Afghanistan.
Nine civilians, including seven children, were killed in August last year when suicide bombers targeted the Indian consulate in the eastern city of Jalalabad, detonating an explosives-packed car.
In 2008, a car bomb at the Indian embassy in Kabul killed 60 people and the embassy was again hit by a suicide strike in 2009. And in 2010, two guesthouses in Kabul used by Indians were attacked.
Sharif is still mulling whether to take up the invitation to attend Modi’s swearing-in ceremony, with many hoping it would help ease tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours.
Pakistan denies supporting militants in Afghanistan and points to its own bloody fight against Islamist extremists.
India has poured $2 billion in reconstruction aid into Afghanistan and has been asked for further support, including military assistance in Kabul’s battle to contain the Taliban insurgency.
While the government in New Delhi is wary of being sucked into the unrest, it has pledged to do all it can to help promote stability in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s Karzai has particularly good relations with New Delhi and obtained a Masters degree in politics when he was a student in India.
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