Promosing stronger security, the Afghan government has proposed a few “secure locations” where the Indian consulate in Herat can be shifted in the coming weeks. The offer has come following the May 23 terrorist attack on the consulate, which was repulsed by Indian and Afghan security personnel. Top government sources told The Sunday Express that Herat Governor Sayed Fazulllah Wahedi met Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh on Friday, and suggested a few locations, which are close to his office and where the security is tighter. It is learnt that India is considering this proposal, as it has conveyed its “full commitment” to stay in Herat — despite the attack. Investigations into the May 23 attack are pointing in the same direction as outlined by initial findings, sources said. The initial findings, shared by Afghan President Hamid Karzai with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had indicated the involvement of Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Toiba. The foreign secretary, who also reviewed the security at the consulate on Friday, also conveyed to the Herat governor that India will start “issuing visas” and the “public dealing” at the consulate will begin at the earliest. On Saturday, Singh called on President Karzai and both presidential candidates Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani. In her interactions with the Afghan leaders, “there was uniform condemnation” of the attack on the Indian consulate and they assured her that “Afghanistan is committed to ensuring full safety for the Indian embassy in Kabul and the four consulates in Herat, Kandahar, Jalalabad and Mazar-e-Sharif”, sources said. “They also emphasised that whatever be the outcome of the forthcoming Afghan elections and the orientation of the new leadership, friendship with India would remain a top priority for the new government of Afghanistan as India-Afghanistan ties are deep-rooted,” a source said. Singh’s two-day visit to Afghanistan is the first diplomatic engagement outside India after the formation of the new government in India. On Friday, she spent the day in Herat and thanked the Herat governor for the support provided to ensure the safety of the Indian consulate and complimented the Afghan forces for their valour in thwarting the attackers.
