Putting aside all security concerns, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh became the first Indian head of government to visit Afghanistan in 29 years. Accompanied by Rahul Gandhi, the son of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and grandson of Indira Gandhi, Mr Singh seemed determined to have a long lasting relationship with Afghanistan.
The last visit to Kabul by an Indian prime minister was in 1976 when Indira Gandhi visited the country. In 1979 India was among the few countries which supported the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Later the war ravaged country was at the centre of a struggle for influence between Pakistan and India when Pakistan supported the Taliban and India backed the Tajik dominated Northern Alliance. Despite the thawing of relations between Pakistan and India, they however continue to compete for a greater influence in the strategically located landlocked country. Historians point that anyone who controls Afghanistan controls the land routes between the Indian subcontinent, Iran, and resource rich Central Asia.
Flanked by Iran on the west, Pakistan on the east and the Central Asian republics of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the north (and a very small stretch of border with China in the northeast), the country’s geo-strategic importance has multiplied manifold. Economically, it is a gateway to the oil and mineral rich Central Asian republics. Also, the massive reconstruction plans for the country offer a lot of opportunities for Indian companies. India had close links with Kabul in the past, but ties weakened in the 1980s and 90s following Afghanistan’s invasion by the former Soviet Union and then the rise of the Taliban. New Delhi was a key supporter of the Afghan opposition forces led by the Northern Alliance that helped overthrow the Taliban.
Analysts say New Delhi is now keen to regain influence in the country, and is among the strongest supporters of President Hamid Karzai. President Karzai has paid three official visits to India, including one in February, since he took over following the Bonn Agreement of December, 2001. He has accepted one more invitation extended by Manmohan. Karzai has promised to help India (and the rest of South Asia) by turning Afghanistan into a transit point to Central Asia. He has repeatedly referred to the economic opportunities that are opening up for India in Central Asia, with Afghanistan acting as the “land bridge” to the region. Though aimed at fostering closer bilateral and economic ties, Manmohan’s visit had the underlying objective of curtailing Pakistan’s influence in a strategically important region.
India which is one of the six largest donors of Afghanistan has extended a $500 million package of assistance to Afghanistan. Manmohan committed $50 million more during his visit. Afghanistan on the other hand was a co-sponsor of the G-4 resolution, introduced by India, Brazil, Germany and Japan, to increase the size of the UN Security Council, a position which is against the one adopted by Pakistan. India though enjoying the support of Karzai government, strongly desires to gain a stronger foothold in Afghanistan by minimizing Pakistan’s influence.
It has offered assistance to Afghanistan in diverse fields not only to ensure its presence in all areas of the Afghan economy but gradually to build it up by earning the goodwill of the general public and to minimize Pakistan’s role. India has offered Afghanistan to construct the Pul-e Kumri-Kabul section of a power transmission line, for the power-starved Kabul. This contribution is apart from humanitarian efforts such as building hospitals and schools. The Indian prime minister participated in a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Parliament building being constructed in Kabul with Indian assistance.
India has also helped Afghanistan in other areas like transportation, aviation and telecommunications. Besides, Delhi helped in the modernization of the Afghan army and police force and has trained 800 personnel, including diplomats and civil servants since 2003. Kabul is also keen that India joins a proposal to pipe gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan and on to India. India also officially expressed an interest in the Turkmen-Afghan-Pak-India gas line, besides the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline. The project envisages building a 3.3 billion dollar pipeline that would run for 1,600 km (990 miles) and feed India’s growing energy needs. Though the Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran earlier said the two-day visit was largely symbolic and no major agreements were expected to be signed between the two countries, they did sign three accords covering education, healthcare and agricultural research in the presence of Manmohan and Afghanistan President Karzai. A joint statement at the end of the visit said an initiative on ‘Small Developmental Projects’ has been launched to work with local communities in development programmes. Following on a pilot project undertaken by the Confederation of Indian Industry in pursuance to President Karzai’s visit to India earlier this year, the two governments agreed to launch a ‘Skill Building Initiative’ in Afghanistan in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry and the United Nations.
Manmohan Singh announced that India will adopt 100 villages in Afghanistan to promote integrated rural development by introducing solar electrification and rain water harvesting, using technologies that have been developed and successfully demonstrated in India. While announcing a gift of 1000 sewing machines to the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, it was agreed that India would assist in establishing a Women’s Vocational Training Centre in Kabul. President Hamid Karzai conveyed Afghanistan’s interest in seeking closer links with SAARC. Dr. Singh welcomed this initiative and affirmed India’s support for Afghanistan’s engagement with SAARC.
Manmohan Singh also handed over a famous school in Kabul, rebuilt by India, and announced 1,000 Indian scholarships for Afghan students. About 400 Tata and Ashok Leyland buses have also been given to the Transport Department apart from a number of trucks to the Kabul Municipality. Till now $600 million has been set apart from the Indian Government’s aid budget for projects in Afghanistan. India in a bid to increase its presence in Afghanistan has been seeking permission from Pakistan to allow overland transit of Indian goods from its territory to Afghanistan and further on to Central Asia. Pakistan however allows Afghan goods to India over its territory. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has repeatedly said Islamabad would only open the door for transit trade if progress is made on the “core issue” of disputed Jammu and Kashmir. India, which already has a preferential trade agreement with Afghanistan is trying to develop new trade routes to Afghanistan through Iran and its seaports at Bandar Abbas and onward by a long, overland link. India hopes that the construction of the Dilaram-Zaranj road will provide direct access to the Iranian port of Chabahar and a shorter route for Indian goods to reach Afghanistan. There are two ports in Iran that are utilized to transit goods to and from Afghanistan-Bandar Abbas and Chabahar.
Afghanistan concluded a transit agreement for Bandar Abbas in 1974 and concluded the transit agreement for Chabahar in 2003. Access to either port from Afghanistan is either through vehicle transport from Herat to Mashad and then rail from Mashad to these ports or through direct vehicle transport. These ports link Afghanistan to the Arabian Sea and to transport goods internationally by ship. The issue of transit rights has affected the talks for the gas pipeline from Iran, with India’s request for a highway parallel to the proposed gas pipeline from Iran being repeatedly rejected by Islamabad. Pakistan has linked almost all economic issues, including granting of MFN status to India, to the resolution of the Kashmir dispute. The joint statement issued in Kabul and the press conference Dr Manmohan Singh and President Hamid Karzai addressed together made it clear that, besides fighting terrorism, India was gearing up to play a major role in providing healthcare, spreading education and the development of agriculture in Afghanistan.
The impact of Indian businessmen is evident from the rush for visas at the Indian embassy in Kabul, and along with the four consulates in Kandahar, Mazar-e-Sharif, Herat and Jalalabad, which issues over 100 visas a day. Many Afghans want to visit India for health consultation and for exploring business opportunities. Automobile parts also come from India, particularly tyres for buses and trucks, not by air, but through sea via Dubai. The Indian construction companies are already involved in the massive reconstruction in building roads; already Shapurji Pallonji and another Hyderabad-based company were engaged in building roads around Kabul, Herat and Kandahar.
India is also eyeing Afghanistan for setting up cement plants as it has the best raw material - high quality of lime and gypsum – to produce cement. Experts believe that any cement plants put up here would have a captive market for 5-10 years with export possibilities beyond that. Indian traders are also trying to capture the agro-processing as India is the biggest importer of Afghanistan’s dry fruit and are setting up a cold storage facility of 5,000-tonne at a cost of US $1.5 million for the first cold storage plant in Afghanistan.
Earlier the fruit growers were compelled to sell their produce at throw away prices, particularly fruits like pomegranates, apples and grapes, to merchants from Quetta, who then packaged and processed the fruits for the export markets. The Indian mining industry is also anxious to get its hands into Afghanistan as there are rich opportunities available. Apart from the clash of interests on trade, the recent upsurge of terrorist incidents in Balochistan was a cause of serious concern for Pakistan. Senior officials have repeatedly pointed to the number of Indian consulates in Afghanistan — in Jalalabad, Kandahar, Herat and Mazar-e-Sharif. They believe these missions were being used to foment unrest across the border in Balochistan and Frontier provinces.
During the visit of a media team to Wana in North Waziristan recently, bags of wheat flour recovered from the militants was shown. The soldiers on de-mining duty said they often find Indian mines among those being used by the anti-state elements. Pakistani officials have accused the Indian missions of printing and circulating fake Pakistani currency and recruiting Afghans to carry out sabotage in Pakistan. India, however, asserts that “It’s for the Afghans to decide which countries get to set up consulates in their countries.” Pakistan needs to gear up efforts in building long term relations with Afghanistan in all areas by improving road and air links, boost trade relations and urge its industrial sector to open up new units, to build strong linkages. It must also bring to light the Indian role in subversive activities in Pakistan.

Computer for Urdu erudite
Anwar Haqqie

Our National language is Urdu but our education system is English Urdu equilibrium and unrecognized. Private English medium Institutions are playing vital role in promotion of English language. Our younger generation feel proud not to familiar with Urdu because Urdu is not a privilege language. Diehard supporters of Urdu do not take the risk of educating their own children in Urdu schools if they can afford English ones. We as a nation should be more concerned about preserving Urdu where it is deteriorating. It is also a fact that the medium of instruction in Pakistan has ceased to be debatable issue outside the intellectual pro Urdu circles. English medium of instruction is thriving in Pakistan because it facilitates access of positions of Power and also to great knowledge.
Which symbol is basically needed for identification out of Nationality, Religious and Language. Dr. Tariq Rehman a professor University of California, Berkeley, says when Irish were trying to get independence from British at that time English was the language of all educated people and was used for education, media, government and other domains of power but Irish used Irish language as Irish identity.
Dr. Mubarak Ali says where language is not symbol of nation’s identity other factors like religion, territory and shared history come into determine why a group of people thinks itself as a nation. National, regional and local languages are being promoted quite actively these days in reaction to globalization. Losing a language means losing a rich treasure trove that is reposed in that language.
Why we Pakistanis are lean towards English?
Over the years, the most valid argument for English language as medium of instruction that it facilitate access to modernization both in terms of progress and acquisition of knowledge. But then the question occurs that if countries like Japan and Korea carried out their modernization in their indigenous languages, why we can not do the same? One argument on the issue is that Urdu lacks the appropriate terminology in the field of Commerce, Science and technology.
Colonization does not have to be physical, but now it is in the shape of transfer of technology which has been encased in the English language. . The greater use of English is being attributed to the dominance of computer and its software where the core language is English.
But now it seems soon situation will become change due to hard struggle and research of (CRULP) Centre for Research for Urdu Language Processing. Dr. Sarmad Hussain is a leader of CRULP holds M. Phil in Computer Speech and Language Processing from Cambridge University and PhD in Speech Science from Northwestern University says the countries which national language is not English have been realized that in computer age it will be utmost difficult for them to survive without knowing the core language of computer which is English. To over come on the problem and for the approach of their people they carried out advance research and heavily invested in developing computational aspect of their national language.
Pakistan could not do the same, despite knowing the fact that majority is not well versed with English and the lingua franca of computer is English, without knowing high English, Internet the entire need of time will not in access. So there was an obvious need to develop a system to enable computers to communicate in Urdu which is most commonly spoken language in the world. We are not only working on Urdu we are also working on the local languages like Sidhi, Pushto and Balochi. First National Urdu Software workshop was held in March, 2001 in Lahore. Since then CRULP has been working on computational aspects of Urdu. Dr Sarmad says it is a challenging job Urdu is consist on Arabic, Persian, Sanskirat and other languages, therefore it is not easy to make computers understand Urdu and other local languages. This heritage makes Urdu far more computationally interesting and challenging than other languages. The Center is working on Urdu Localization project which will develop Urdu lexicon, Machine translation component and Urdu text to speech Synthesizer. Urdu lexicon will contain information about Urdu language which will allow online access of Urdu words. Development of Machine translation component will capable of translating idiomatic language and understand the usage of word with reference to the context was an extremely tough task. The meanings of a word can have dozens of different meanings according to its usage. It will be capable for translation of English into Urdu which will also be helpful to collect information from Internet for those who are not familiar with English. Text to Speech Synthesizer will be enabling to translate email and web page. The centre has also developed a spell checker.
Dr. Sarmad proudly says about the land mark achieved by Pakistan in Urdu computing we have succeeded in developing Urdu fonts like Nastaleeq, Nafees Nasq, Nafees Web Nasq and software like Inpage and Shahkar. The development is now directly related to access to information and the ability to process this information for productive work. National and local languages are best means to empowering people with access to information. The whole world has realized this fact but we are an age behind the advance countries. Unfortunately the Urdu software industry could not flourish in Pakistan because there is no absolute system to check piracy. This is the reason that private sector is not involved in this process. Government should ensure anti piracy laws to bring maximum number of private sector to boost up Urdu Software Industry. He further says when you don’t receive appropriate appreciation of your hard work; it is natural to become dishearten. Appreciation and profit making both are necessary at once.
In my views the efforts making by Dr. Sarmad and his whole team is remarkable resulted in future will be nothing less than a blessing for Urdu Speakers. Urdu is a national language of Pakistan and being a respectable and loyal citizen we all should preserve it.