New Delhi: In the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second visit to Afghanistan and the inauguration of the Salma dam in Herat there, the assessment in South Block is that India has succeeded in getting the Afghan Government out of the Pakistani orbit of influence, forging what is seen as an emerging Indo-Afghan-Iranian axis and is all set to further strengthen its already-close ties with the United States.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s whirlwind diplomacy has caused jitters in Islamabad and has further isolated Pakistan which now has only China as its main backer, Government sources said.
They said Afghanistan appears to have seen through Pakistan’s sinister game plan of continuing to promote the Afghan Taliban and exporting terrorism. On Sunday, India also thanked Afghanistan for conferring the country’s highest civilian honour — the Amir Amanullah Khan award — on PM Narendra Modi during his visit there.
“It’s a matter of great honour for India that the Indian Prime Minister has been conferred with the highest ever civilian award by the Afghan government. It is an honour also for the whole country for which we are grateful to the government of Afghanistan,” finance minister Arun Jaitley said. India’s serious push for membership of the NS G and China’s attempts to block it has also exposed the Beijing-Islamabad nexus globally.
