It is very disturbing to learn that India and Afghanistan are set to sign a strategic agreement between them, for which Afghan President Hamid Karzai would be visiting New Delhi next week. Under the agreement, Afghan military, security and police officials would be trained in Indian institutions. There is hardly any doubt that Mr Karzai is being pressurised by the US to look to India for such matters. There are two important aspects that the Afghan President should keep in mind, while forming any alliance with India. Firstly, the future of Afghanistan is linked to Pakistan and, secondly, moves like concluding a strategic agreement with India would certainly jeopardise the efforts being made by Pakistan to clear Kabuls misunderstandings about our role in issues of mutual concerns. President Karzai must also realise that the US administration is bent upon building India as a counterweight to China and is keen to assign it a dominant role post-withdrawal of NATO troops by 2014. He should also recall that through its consulate offices, whether officially listed or not, along Pak-Afghan borders, India has been sponsoring insurgency in Balochistan. Given these facts, Mr Karzais signing of a strategic agreement with New Delhi would create further misunderstandings with us that are not in the interest of either country, Afghanistan as well as Pakistan, if he wants his country to progress and prosper in the days to come.