Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi on Friday assured Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai of New Delhi’s continued friendship, commitment and engagement in reconstruction and stability of the war-ravaged country in spite of the repeated attacks on the Indian interests in that country.
Hours after four heavily-armed terrorists launched an attack on the Consulate General of India at Herat in western Afghanistan early on Friday; Modi, who is set to take over as the Prime Minister of India on Monday, called up New Delhi’s envoy to Kabul, Amar Sinha.
He asked Sinha about the incident and “bolstered morale” of the staff of all the diplomatic missions of India in Afghanistan.
He also assured all sorts of support to the “brave staff” of the CGI at Herat, said spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Syed Akbaruddin.
In a post on Twitter, Modi praised the “indomitable spirit” of the staff of the CGI at Herat and saluted the Indian security personnel and Afghanistan for their “valiant efforts” to fight the terrorists.
Modi also received a call from Karzai, who is understood to have briefed him about the incident and assured him of making all efforts to ensure security of the staff of India’s diplomatic missions in Afghanistan.
Karzai, who is likely to attend Modi’s swearing-in ceremony on Monday, also informed the Prime Minister designate that he had already ordered a thorough investigation into the attack.
Modi thanked Karzai for the call and assurance of the safety of Indian citizens in Afghanistan and for the rapid reaction of the Afghan security forces in containing the attack.
He reaffirmed India’s continued friendship, commitment and engagement in reconstruction and stability in Afghanistan.