2014 attack on Indian consulate in Herat

Last updated

2014 Attack on Indian Consulate in Herat
Part of War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
Herat in Afghanistan.svg
Location of Herat Province in Afghanistan
Location Herat, Afghanistan
Date23 May 2014
3:15 a.m.
TargetIndian consulate
Weaponsassault rifles
Deaths4 attackers
Injured2+
Perpetrators Lashkar-e-Taiba [1]

The Indian consulate in Herat, Afghanistan was attacked on 23 May 2014 by four heavily armed militants, three days before the inaugural ceremony of Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister of India.

Contents

The attack

The Indian consulate in Herat, Afghanistan was attacked around 3:15 a.m. on 23 May 2014 by four heavily armed militants. The attackers were armed with machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, hand grenades and suicide vests. They opened fire from a nearby home. All the attackers were killed during a lengthy gun battle, two by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and others by the Afghan security forces. [2] [3] [4]

No one in the consulate's staff was injured. A squad of 23 ITBP personnel was guarding the consulate. [5] [6] The consulate, located in central Herat, enjoys extensive protection comparable only to the U.S. consulate in the city. It has at least three layers of security, and visitors must walk 200 m to reach it as the road leading to it is barricaded. [7]

No group claimed responsibility for the attack. [8]

Analysis

On 25 May, the Afghan president Hamid Karzai informed Indian media that the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a Pakistani terrorist organisation with links to the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI, was responsible for the attack. Indian security agencies also agreed with the assessment. In June, the US State Department came out with its own assessment that the LeT was responsible for the attacks and redesignated LeT as a terrorist organisation. [9] After a symbolic ban by President Musharraf, the LeT had renamed itself Jamat ud Dawa and begun posing as a charity. [10]

According to American South Asia analyst Bruce Riedel, the LeT had planned to take Indian diplomats hostage and execute them just as Narendra Modi was taking office. Their goal was, according to Riedel, to discredit Pakistan's own Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was due to attend Modi's inaugural ceremony. This was meant to be payback to Sharif for having put the former army dictator Pervez Musharraf on trial for treason. [11]

The Diplomat reported a Pakistani security expert stating that the timing of the attack was related to the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi. There were said to be forces in Pakistan that were agitated about any bonhomie with the BJP leader as they see him as an enemy. [12]

Reactions

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai spoke to India's Prime Minister designate Narendra Modi after the attack and called it "an attack on Afghanistan, India and our shared interests". [13] Narendra Modi condemned the attack and assured support to Amar Sinha, the Indian ambassador to Afghanistan. [14]

The External affairs ministry of Sri Lanka and Foreign Affairs Ministry of Pakistan also condemned the attack. [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

Hamid Karzai President of Afghanistan from 2002 to 2014

Hamid Karzai is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from December 2004 to September 2014. He previously served as Chairman of the Afghan Interim Administration from December 2001 to July 2002. He is the chief (khān) of the Popalzai Durrani tribe of Pashtuns in Kandahar Province.

Jaish-e-Mohammed Islamic Jihadist organisation

Jaish-e-Mohammed is a Pakistan-based Deobandi Jihadist militant group active in Kashmir which is widely considered as a terrorist group. The group's primary motive is to separate Kashmir from India and merge it into Pakistan.

National Assembly (Afghanistan) Former bicameral national legislature of Afghanistan

The National Assembly, also known as the Parliament of Afghanistan or simply as the Afghan Parliament, was the legislature of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. It was effectively dissolved when the Taliban seized power on 15 August 2021, and transferred legislative authority to the Leadership Council. The Taliban did not include the National Assembly and several other agencies of the former government in its first national budget in May 2022. Government spokesman Innamullah Samangani said that due to the financial crisis, only active agencies were included in the budget, and the excluded ones had been dissolved, but noted they could be brought back "if needed". It was a bicameral body, comprising two chambers:

The following lists events that happened during 2002 in Afghanistan.

The following lists events that happened during 2004 in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan–India relations Bilateral relations

Afghanistan–India relations refers to the diplomatic relations between India and Afghanistan. They had been historical neighbours, and share cultural ties through Bollywood and cricket.

2008 bombing of Indian embassy in Kabul Suicide bomb terrorist attack

The 2008 Indian embassy bombing in Kabul was a suicide bomb terror attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan on 7 July 2008 at 8:30 AM local time. The bombing killed 58 people and wounded 141. The suicide car bombing took place near the gates of the embassy during morning hours when officials enter the embassy.

Pakistan and state-sponsored terrorism refers to the involvement of Pakistan in terrorism through the backing of various designated terrorist organizations. Pakistan has been frequently accused by various countries, including its neighbours Afghanistan, India, and Iran, as well as by the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, of involvement in a variety of terrorist activities in both its local region of South Asia and beyond. Pakistan's northwestern tribal regions along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border have been described as an effective safe haven for terrorists by Western media and the United States Secretary of Defense, while India has accused Pakistan of perpetuating the insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir by providing financial support and armaments to militant groups, as well as by sending state-trained terrorists across the Line of Control and de jure India–Pakistan border to launch attacks in Indian-administered Kashmir and India proper, respectively. According to an analysis published by the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution in 2008, Pakistan was reportedly, "with the possible exception of Iran, perhaps the world's most active sponsor of terrorist groups... aiding these groups that pose a direct threat to the United States. Pakistan's active participation has caused thousands of deaths in the region; all these years Pakistan has been supportive to several terrorist groups despite several stern warnings from the international community." Daniel Byman, a professor and senior analyst of terrorism and security at the Center For Middle East Policy, also wrote that, "Pakistan is probably 2008's most active sponsor of terrorism". In 2018, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, suggested that the Pakistani government played a role in the 2008 Mumbai attacks that were carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based Islamist terrorist group. In July 2019, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, on an official visit to the United States, acknowledged the presence of some 30,000–40,000 armed terrorists operating on Pakistani soil. He further stated that previous administrations were hiding this truth, particularly from the United States, for the last 15 years during the War on Terror.

The February 2010 Kabul attack on 26 February 2010 was a combined suicide bombing and shooting attack. A car bomb levelled the Arya Guesthouse, also known as the Hamid Guesthouse, popular with Indian doctors. Two armed attackers then entered the nearby Park Residence, housing other foreigners. One detonated a suicide bomb, and the other was shot dead. The Safi Landmark Hotel nearby was badly damaged by the blasts. At least 18 people were killed and 36 more were injured.

Route 606 (Afghanistan) Road in Afghanistan

Route 606, also known as Delaram-Zaranj Highway or A71 is a 218 km roadway in the Nimruz Province of Afghanistan connecting the Delaram District in Afghanistan to the border of Iran. The opposite way goes towards the south near Zaranj, Afghanistan. It is one of the busiest roads in Afghanistan and provides an important trade route between Iran and the rest of Asia. It was developed by India's Border Roads Organisation.

Human rights violations in Balochistan Organized abuse and breaches of fundamental human rights in Balochistan, Pakistan

Human rights violations in the province ofBalochistan refers to the human rights abuses that are occurring in the ongoing insurgency in Balochistan. The situation in has drawn concern in the international community, The human rights situation in Balochistan is credited to the long-running conflict between Baloch nationalists and Pakistani security forces.

First swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi

Narendra Modi, parliamentary leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, started the first tenure of his prime ministership, after his swearing-in as the 14th Prime Minister of India on 26 May 2014. 45 other ministers were also sworn in along with Modi. The ceremony was noted by media for being the first ever swearing-in of an Indian Prime Minister to have been attended by the heads of all SAARC countries.

The foreign policy of the Modi government is associated with the policy initiatives made towards other states by the current government of India after Narendra Modi assumed the office of prime minister on May 26, 2014.

The eighteenth summit of 'South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation' (SAARC) was held in Kathmandu, the capital of Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal during 26–27 November 2014. The theme of the summit was Deeper Integration for Peace and Prosperity, focused on enhancing connectivity between the member states for easier transit-transport across the region. Sushil Koirala, the then Nepalese Prime Minister, was the main host of the event which took place in Rastriya Sabha Griha The summit took place after an interval of three years as the previous summit was held in 2011 in Maldives.

2014 Wagah border suicide attack

On 2 November 2014, a suicide bombing took place at Wagah border following the daily border ceremony in Pakistan. The attack was claimed by three rival militant groups.

South Asian foreign policy of the Narendra Modi government

Neighbourhood First Policy of India, a core component of India's foreign policy, focuses on peaceful relations and collaborative synergetic co-development with its South Asian neighbors of the Indian subcontinent encompassing a diverse range of topics, such as economic, technology, research and education, connectivity, space program, defence security, environment and climate challenge. This policy creates new avenues as well as leverages existing regional cooperation initiatives, such as SAARC, SASEC, BBIN, and BIMSTEC. It compliments India's Look East policy focused on Southeast Asia and Look West Policy focused on Middle East.

2015 Karachi bus shooting

On 13 May 2015, eight gunmen attacked a bus travelling in Safoora Goth, Karachi, Sindh in Pakistan. The shooting left at least 46 people dead. All of the victims were of the Ismaili Shia Muslim minority, suggesting the attack was a targeted killing of sectarian nature.

The 2016 Pathankot attack was a terroist attack committed on 2 January 2016 by a heavily armed group of Islamic militants which attacked the Pathankot Air Force Station, part of the Western Air Command of the Indian Air Force.

The 2016 Uri attack was carried out on 18 September by four Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists from Pakistan against an Indian Army brigade headquarters near the town of Uri in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. 19 Indian soldiers were killed in the attack, and 19–30 others were injured. It was reported by the BBC as having been "the deadliest attack on security forces in Kashmir in two decades".

The Embassy of India in Kabul was the diplomatic mission of the Republic of India to Afghanistan. The current Ambassador is Rudrendra Tandon.

References

  1. LeT responsible for attack at Indian consulate in Herat: US
  2. IANS (23 May 2014). "Indian Consulate in Afghanistan attacked, 4 gunmen killed". The Hindu . Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  3. Indian consulate attacked in Afghanistan, The Guardian, 23 May 2014.
  4. Indian consulate in Herat, Afghanistan attacked, BBC News, 23 May 2014.
  5. "Attack on Indian consulate in Afghanistan's Herat thwarted, all gunmen killed". Hindustan Times. 23 May 2014. Archived from the original on 23 May 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  6. Arora, Kamna (23 May 2014). "Indian consulate in Afghanistan attacked: Four gunmen killed, Hamid Karzai calls Narendra Modi". Zee news. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  7. "Why Was India's Herat Consulate Attacked?". The Diplomat. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  8. "Indian consulate attacked in Afghanistan's Herat". The Times of India. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  9. LeT responsible for attack at Indian consulate in Herat: US, The Hindu, 26 June 2014.
  10. Pakistani charity is a terror front which attacked Indian consulate, says US, The Telegraph, 26 June 2014.
  11. Bruce Riedel, Nuclear Pakistan’s Spies Target India—and Their Own Prime Minister, The Daily Beast/Brookings Institution, 4 September 2014.
  12. Why Was India's Herat Consulate Attacked? [ permanent dead link ], The Diplomat, 24 May 2014.
  13. "Gunmen attack Indian Consulate in Afghanistan". Associated Press. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  14. "Narendra Modi condemns attack on Indian consulate in Herat". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  15. "Sri Lanka and Pakistan condemn Attack on Indian Consulate in Herat". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 23 May 2014.