Kabul again

The suicide bomber in Kabul on Thursday left no doubt that the target was the Indian embassy. As Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao indicated soon after,in intensity the blast bears similarity to that of July 7 last year. That attack left 60 dead,including a Foreign Service officer and a defence attache at the embassy. Then,investigators picked up enough chatter to indicate the involvement of the Pakistan-based Haqqani group,with possible participation of some of that countrys intelligence agents. This time too,the Afghan foreign office has pointed to persons with bases outside of Afghanistan,to those positioned against India-Afghanistan relations.

Investigators should get firmer leads soon. But the attack once again highlights the conditions in which Indian personnel are working in Afghanistan in myriad ways,to build long-term local capabilities in education,health and infrastructure including a parliament building,roads,power,and telecommunication,besides undertaking humanitarian programmes to deliver food and medicine. Just recently,a 202-km-long transmission line was completed to get electricity to Kabul. Attacks like Thursdays highlight the security challenges that must be constantly re-assessed and acted upon to secure the kind of capabilities India is building in Afghanistan. Unlike other major powers assisting in Afghanistan,Indias personnel are not military people,they are engineers,doctors,teachers,construction workers,all engaged in civilian activities and contributing to Indias soft participation in nation-building there. Their induction and presence have nuanced Indian diplomacy in the region,and won local support. But this kind of strategic gain,as seen on Thursday,comes with huge risks to lives.

A comparison with last years attack,however,shows that the security revamp undertaking after July 7,2008 has improved protection at the embassy. But it also shows that India must brace itself for more challenges,especially at a time when Taliban violence is on the increase and political uncertainty is heightened by talk of eventual withdrawal of US troops. New Delhi will,per force,have to hunker down and follow up an investigation into the attack with dogged diplomacy. Of course,the good works being done in Afghanistan must carry on. Equally,it must be repeated that Afghanistan is a frontier in combatting the terrorism targeted against India.