PM returned from the Kabul visit

NEW DELHI: On Thursday Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived in Afghanistan for a two-day visit, including talks on the regional impact of Osama bin Laden’s death and future aid projects, said officials.

In six years Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was on his first visit to Kabul was due to meet President Hamid Karzai as calls grow for a quicker withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan following the killing of the al Qaeda chief.

Any rapid reduction of US presence in Afghanistan would cause India concern, as it fears the country could become dominated by a Taliban-influenced government friendly towards its arch-rival Pakistan.

Singh said that he and Karzai would “exchange views on developments in the region and our common fight against the scourge of terrorism”.

He said in a statement before leaving New Delhi, “The quest of the Afghan people for peace, stability and reconciliation needs the full support of all countries in the region and the international community.”