Afghan president Ashraf Ghani suspends order for heavy arms from India

NEW DELHI: Afghan president Ashraf Ghani has suspended an order for heavy arms from India, in what is being viewed as an effort by Kabul to improve relations with Pakistan. Islamabad had frowned on the order placed by Hamid Karzai.

Unlike Karzai, Ghani who came to power last year has not yet made any attempts to further ties notwithstanding visits by the Foreign Minister and NSA to Kabul. An Afghanistan-based expert said Ghani’s decision could be setback for Indo-Afghan ties and impact regional equations.

Ghani has traveled to China and Pakistan, but has not confirmed his visit to India yet. Afghan officials, however, claimed that Ghani would broadly follow Karzai’s India policy but may purchase heavy weapons from elsewhere. The officials also informed that Ghani would undertake a visit to Delhi but did not specify timeframe. Ghani had met the PM in Kathmandu last November.