Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday became the first Indian premier to visit Afghanistan in nearly three decades, pledging with Afghan President Hamid Karzai to battle terrorism amid rising violence in the war-battered country.
"The two leaders condemned global terrorism as a threat to democracy and declared that there can be no compromise with those who resort to terrorism," said a joint-statement issued by the pair after talks.
At a joint press conference in Kabul, Karzai denounced the militant attacks and vowed that the Afghan people would not be deterred from voting on September 18.
"There will be threats. There will be terrorist activity, but that will not deter the Afghan people from participating as it did not deter the Afghan people from participating in the presidential elections," he told reporters. Singh's two-day visit is the first by an Indian head of government to Afghanistan since 1976 when then premier Indira Gandhi flew to Kabul.
Indian analysts have said the trip provided a chance to blunt the influence of regional rival Pakistan, and Singh announced a fresh assistance package of 50 million dollars, mostly earmarked for grassroots development projects.
India, one of the six top donors to Afghanistan, has pledged 500 million dollars in aid to Kabul since 2002 and Singh said the country's recovery was of political and strategic interest to India, as well as the region.
"The emergence of a moderate, democratic and prosperous Afghanistan is essential for peace and stability in the region as a whole," he said.
Karzai called on Pakistan to open transit routes to allow Indian aid to flow into impoverished Afghanistan.
"Afghanistan was very happy to see a dialogue for better relations between India and Pakistan. Afghanistan is directly affected by friendship between the two countries," Karzai told reporters.
"The three countries jointly can have a massive impact on the economy of this region and worldwide."
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