Indian consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif may be shifted after foiled terror bid

In wake of the recent terrorist attack on the Indian consulate in the Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif, India has started mulling possibilities of shifting the Consulate from the residential area based on the recommendations from different security agencies back home. 

Highly placed sources in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) told Millennium Post that talks have begun at the highest level of security officials, including the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), which is an Indian guarding force in Afghanistan, to shift the consulate. “Indian consulate in Afghanistan is highly vulnerable due to its location which is mostly surrounded by residential areas,” said an official, requesting anonymity. 

Referring to the recent failed attempt of terrorists to storm the Indian consulate, the official said the five-storey building facing the consulate makes it highly vulnerable. “Ideally, that five-storey building should not have been there. Anyone can target us by reaching at the top, especially if that premise is of a private person,” said the official. 

On January 3, four armed terrorists tried to barge into the Indian consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif. After a heavy gun battle with ITBP, two terrorists were killed on the spot and the remaining two entered a five-storey building about 100 meters across the road from the Indian consulate. “As per protocol, ITBP personnel cannot operate outside the consulate building and outer periphery is manned by Afghan forces,” said the official, pointing out the danger that residential locations pose.

The attack comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Kabul to inaugurate its new Parliament building, constructed by India. 

This was followed by a surprise visit to Pakistan the next day, which was welcomed by several world leaders. Taliban and other ISI-backed terrorists have targeted the Indian diplomatic post several times in the past. 

In May 2014, the Indian consulate in Herat was attacked by four heavily armed militants coinciding with the oath-taking ceremony of PM Modi. It was later shifted to a safer place in Herat’s Bagh Millat where the US consulate was earlier located.