Afghanistan To Provide Guns-Choppers Wishlist To India

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani is likely to hand over a list of guns and helicopters the country wishes to acquire from India for military assistance.

The president will be arriving in New Delhi on Wednesday. “Guns and helicopters are likely to be in the requirement list of the visiting President,” Express reported quoting unnamed sources as saying Wednesday.

Afghanistan has been demanding increased defence supplies, including lethal weapons from India, which for the first time gave four Mi-25 attack helicopters to the war-torn country last year.

India recently grounded the last of the four Mi-24 attack helicopters meant for Afghanistan due to lack of Russian spares for the helicopter.

While India is yet to communicate to Afghanistan when it would hand over the fourth Mi-25, Afghanistan has already requested India for additional Cheetal as well as Mi-24/25 helicopters, but the IAF has expressed its inability to spare anymore fixed wing platforms from its inventory due to its own operational requirements.

However it has been learnt that India has promised supply of more helicopters at the highest level politically and this is expected to be discussed in August last week.

Early last year, India supplied three Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)-built Cheetal utility helicopters. Three Mi-24 helicopters have already been delivered to Afghanistan last year.