Boosting Afghan defence force, India hands over second pair of Mi-24V helicopters to Afghanistan

Kabul, October 15: Sharing close knitted relation with Afghanistan, Indian Ambassador Vinay Kumar handed over 2nd pair of Mi-24V helicopters to Afghanistan Defence Minister Asadullah Khalid at a ceremony, today. These helicopters are replacements for the four helicopters gifted by India to Afghanistan in 2015-16.

Indian ambassador to Kabul Vinay Kumar handed over the two helicopters to Afghanistan’s national defence minister Asadullah Khalid at the Kabul Air Force base. The helicopters were purchased from Belarus and were handed to the Afghan Air Force in an official ceremony attended by the acting minister of defence Asadullah Khalid.

 

The Mi-24 is a large helicopter gunship, can be used for assault and transport missions given that it can ferry up to eight people. The handover comes at a particularly crucial time for Afghanistan, which has been looking for alternative sources of funds and weapons to sustain its defence forces in the event of a US exit and the eventual drying up of international funds to steady the country.

New Delhi has pledged and donated more than $3 billion in aid and reconstruction efforts to Afghanistan, it has been reluctant to send soldiers to reinforce a US-led multinational force. India’s reluctance stems from the fact that its embassy in Kabul and its consulates in other parts of Afghanistan have been targeted by terrorist groups such as the Haqqani network that are seen as linked to Pakistan-backed Taliban insurgents who are aiming to dislodge President Ashraf Ghani.