India announces $150,000 aid for victims of Jalalabad attack

Jalalabad (Afghanistan): India today  announced a package of nearly USD 150,000 for providing relief to victims and reconstructing a mosque damaged in a devastating suicide attack on its Consulate here last week. India’s Ambassador to Afghanistan, Amar Sinha, who came here from Kabul, met the Governor of Nangarhar province and the families of those who died in the suicide attack on August 3. Sinha said India would provide a “token assistance” of USD 10,000 to the families of each of the nine Afghans who died in the attack. India has also announced a reward of USD 20,000 for members of security agencies who were on duty to protect the Indian Consulate at the time of the attack, official sources said. [caption id=“attachment_1014867” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Afghan security officials inspect the site of the blast. AP[/caption] In addition, a reward of USD 2,000 has been announced by India for the brave Afghan National Police personnel who gunned down a suicide bomber and stopped the attackers in their tracks, they said. During his visit to a hospital in Jalalabad, Sinha announced that India will provide USD 20,000 to the local government for the treatment of the injured. India will also provide USD 10,000 to the provincial administration to assist efforts by it and local communities to repair the mosque that was damaged in the attack, sources said. Many of the victims were children attending a religious class at the mosque located a short distance from the Indian Consulate. PTI