We’re in Kabul to contribute, not compete: PM

Mr. Modi was addressing the Afghan Parliament after inaugurating its building built by India at a cost of $90 million in the presence of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

In a veiled attack against Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said here on Friday that Afghanistan would succeed only when terrorism no longer flowed across the border and when nurseries and sanctuaries of terrorism were shut.

Declaring that India was in Afghanistan to contribute and not to compete and to lay the foundations of the future and not light the flame of conflict, Mr. Modi said terror and violence could not be the instrument to shape the future.

He was addressing the Afghan Parliament after inaugurating its building built by India at a cost of $90 million in the presence of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. He opened the ‘Atal block’ on the Parliament premises named after the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

In his nearly 40-minute address, Mr. Modi made a veiled reference to Pakistan’s reservations about Indian involvement in Afghanistan. Mr. Modi saluted the people of Afghanistan for having faith in India and not judging it through what others told.

Mr. Modi said, “Too much blood has flown down the Kabul river. Too many tragedies have darkened the mountain slopes. Too many dreams have burnt in the fire of a senseless conflict.”

“We must support Afghanistan without time lines because the new clouds of extremism and terrorism are rising, even as the old ones continue to darken our skies; and, because Afghans are not only fighting for their future, but are standing up for all of us and a safer world,” he said.

Mr. Modi said efforts were under way to improve Afghanistan’s connectivity by land and sea, including through Chahbahar in Iran.

“That is why I hope that Pakistan will become a bridge between South Asia and Afghanistan and beyond,” he said.

Mr. Modi told Parliament that every youth in Afghanistan should see a future in which IT stood for information technology, not international terrorism.

The Prime Minister also praised Afghans who have risked their lives to protect Indian interests.

Mr. Modi said the new Parliament Complex was a small tribute to Afghanistan’s progress.