I guess AZB was right. I was reading an Indian newspaper online and this is what I found:
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IANS [ FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2002 11:08:38 AM ]
NEW DELHI: India has set up a military base in Central Asia as global competition for access to the oil and gas-rich region intensifies, according to military and diplomatic sources.
The base, set up at Farkhor in Tajikistan, close to Afghanistan's border, is the first such Indian military facility outside India and has been quietly operational since May.
The sources said the base had been helpful in transporting relief assistance India has pledged to Afghanistan in view of the mutual ban on overflights India and Pakistan imposed on each other in December.
The ban has forced Indian relief planes to fly to Kabul by circuitous routes via Iran or Central Asia.
Though Farkhor had been used by these flights for refuelling, it meant use of smaller planes because it has only a short runway. "We had to fly 18 sorties up and down to ferry 18 tonnes," a source said.
With the Indian base coming up in Tajikistan, larger transport planes are able to land and take off from the base.
The base was set up following a bilateral agreement reached during Defence Minister George Fernandes' visit to the Tajik capital of Dushanbe in April.
The two countries have agreed to cooperate in the fight against terrorism because both are victims of the Taliban militia of Afghanistan.
During his visit, Fernandes held extensive talks with Tajikistan President Emomali Rakhmonov, Prime Minister Akil Akipov and Defence Minister General Sherali Khairullayev.
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IANS [ FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2002 11:08:38 AM ]
NEW DELHI: India has set up a military base in Central Asia as global competition for access to the oil and gas-rich region intensifies, according to military and diplomatic sources.
The base, set up at Farkhor in Tajikistan, close to Afghanistan's border, is the first such Indian military facility outside India and has been quietly operational since May.
The sources said the base had been helpful in transporting relief assistance India has pledged to Afghanistan in view of the mutual ban on overflights India and Pakistan imposed on each other in December.
The ban has forced Indian relief planes to fly to Kabul by circuitous routes via Iran or Central Asia.
Though Farkhor had been used by these flights for refuelling, it meant use of smaller planes because it has only a short runway. "We had to fly 18 sorties up and down to ferry 18 tonnes," a source said.
With the Indian base coming up in Tajikistan, larger transport planes are able to land and take off from the base.
The base was set up following a bilateral agreement reached during Defence Minister George Fernandes' visit to the Tajik capital of Dushanbe in April.
The two countries have agreed to cooperate in the fight against terrorism because both are victims of the Taliban militia of Afghanistan.
During his visit, Fernandes held extensive talks with Tajikistan President Emomali Rakhmonov, Prime Minister Akil Akipov and Defence Minister General Sherali Khairullayev.