India to resume medical mission in Afghanistan

India is set to resume its much-acclaimed medical mission work in Afghanistan which was scaled down following the terror attack in Kabul early this year that left nine Indians dead, senior officials said in Kabul on Tuesday.

"There is no scaling back. We are in the process of resuming full-fledged operations in Afghanistan," a senior Indian official told PTI. India launched the medical missions in Afghanistan in 2001-2002 and was operating five such missions in Kabul, Herat, Kandahar, Jalalabad and Mazar-e-Sharif.

Though the Mazar-e-Sharif medical mission is functioning normally, the other four missions spread around the war-torn Afghanistan were temporarily suspended, the officials said. The operation of the Indian medical mission at Kabul was suspended temporarily as the required staff and security was not available after the February 26 coordinated suicide attacks by Taliban at two hotels in Kabul that killed nine Indians, including two Major rank Army officers.

Of the 11-member medical team, one of the six doctors was killed in the attack and others injured. The medical missions in Kabul and Kandahar are expected to resume full-fledged operations soon, the sources said.

"We are putting in extra security measures to ensure that our operations are not hampered in future," an Indian embassy official here said. The Indian medical mission in Afghanistan has treated over 3 lakh patients, mostly women and children so far. The patients were given free treatment as well as medicines.

During External Affairs Minister S M Krishna's talks with Afghan National Security Advisor Rangin Dadfar Spanta here yesterday, the issue of security for Indian nationals working in the country figured prominently. Krishna sensitised the Afghan government on the Indian government's concern over security for its nationals in Afghanistan and sought adequate security for them.

Spanta assured Krishna that the afghan government would take whatever steps it could to ensure that the "Indian guests" who have been doing impressive work in Afghanistan would be given adequate protection.

Nine years after US-led troops toppled their government, the Taliban have made a comeback and have inflicted heavy losses on foreign forces and has attacked foreign aid workers in the country.

The Taliban have repeatedly turned down past peace overtures from the Afghan government, saying they group will engage in peace talks only when all of the 140,000 foreign troops leave Afghanistan.