Afghan President Hamid Karzai, on a two-day visit to India, is due to meet with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday to discuss economic cooperation and the fight against terrorism. Mr. Karzai is also scheduled to hold separate talks with Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee before returning to Kabul.
Accompanied by Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta and National Security Adviser Zalmai Rassoul, Mr. Karzai is expected to convey a message of solidarity with India, in the aftermath of the November terrorist attacks in Mumbai. The Afghan leader arrived in New Delhi Sunday, one day after meeting in Kabul with the next vice president of the United States, Joe Biden. During a visit to a stronghold of Taliban insurgents in the southern province of Kandahar Sunday, Biden reaffirmed U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's full support for troops in Afghanistan. Biden visited international soldiers in Kandahar.
Afghanistan and India enjoy warm relations and are united partly by their concern that Pakistani-based insurgents are carrying out attacks on their countries. India has accused Pakistani militants and government agents of involvement in the Mumbai attacks that killed more than 170 people. Pakistan denies the allegation. Afghanistan has accused Pakistani-based militants of attacking Afghan and international forces on its soil. Pakistan says it is fighting the insurgency along its border with Afghanistan.