Krishna lauds Indian officials in Afghanistan

Addressing members of the Indian embassy here, Krishna said he was pleasantly surprised to learn that some of the staff who had already spent their stipulated two-year term in Afghanistan wanted to continue for one more year.

Krishna, in an informal address to the embassy staff, said: “I know the tremendous stress that you are going through. None the less, the fibre all of you are made of is truly different. You have earned gratitude of a nation. We are grateful and indebted and proud of all of you”.

The Indian embassy in Kabul was the target of terror attack in July 2008, when several officials including the ambassador were killed. Seven Indians became the target of another terror attack on a hotel in February last year.

Noting that he was keen to meet them, Krishna said they had shown personal commitment apart from duty to the nation. “Let me salute you. No foreign minister could be more proud of such an asset of men and women serving their motherland,” he said.

The minister said Afghanistan was going through one of the most difficult phases and India was keen to deepen its ties with the strife-torn nation.

Krishna said the year ahead may be tough and turbulent for Afghanistan but “then, how long can turbulence last? After the terrorism storm, there has to be calm. We are in that threshold where we are on an onset of conscious deliberation of one of the most important assignments,” he added.