NEW DELHI- India has decided to supply heavy weapons and equipment tofriendly Afghanistan.

And, for the first time, India is likely to provide Afghanistan with troopcarriers, spares for tanks, and rocket systems that are used incounter-insurgency operations.

Top sources have told India Today that the Defence Ministry has asked thethree services to draw-up a list of weapon systems that they can spare.

Sources said New Delhi wants to give Afghanistan the Indian Army’s excessstocks.

The Afghan National Army is comfortable handling Russian-origin platforms,which comprise at least 60 per cent of India’s arsenal.

Apart from this, India is also looking to procure weapon systems from theerstwhile Soviet Block.

“We will be providing them improved and strengthened weapons systems andplatforms needed for effective counter-insurgency operations,” top sourcestold India Today.

Sources indicated that India is likely to provide four more helicopters,besides repairing and refurbishing helicopters it had gifted Afghanistanearlier.

India will be providing friendly foreign countries “improved andstrengthened weapon systems that we can spare besides sourcing from formerSoviet-Bloc countries,” a top Defence Ministry source told India Today.

Breaking from the past of not supplying lethal platforms to counties likeAfghanistan, the Modi-led NDA government had supplied four Russian madeMi-25 helicopters to Afghanistan.

The helicopters were to bolster the capabilities of the Afghan NationalArmy to fight the Taliban. These helicopters are, however, grounded andneed to be overhauled.

“We will overhaul and provide spares to make them operational again,” a topsource told India Today.