NEW YORK (PAN): Nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours India and Pakistan are competing for influence in Afghanistan, says a report prepared for US lawmakers and Congressional committees.

Titled Afghanistan: Post-War Governance, Security, and the US Policy, by Congressional Research Service, concludes the interests and activities of India and Pakistan in Afghanistan are exact reverse of each other.

Indias goal is to deny Pakistan strategic depth in Afghanistan, the Congressional Research Service said in its latest. New Delhi supported the Northern Alliance against Taliban in the mid-1990s.

A possible reflection of the ties was that Tajikistan allowed India to use one of its airbases and supported the mostly Tajik Northern Alliance, the document pointed out.

"India saw the Talibans hosting of al-Qaeda as a major threat to India itself because of al-Qaedas association with radical Islamic organisations in Pakistan dedicated to ending Indian control of parts of Jammu and Kashmir. Some of these groups have committed major acts of terrorism in India, the report alleged.

Delhi was emerging as a major investor in and donor to the war-torn country, the report said, adding that India was co-financing along with the Asian Development Bank several power projects in northern Afghanistan.

For its part, Pakistan has been wary of the Afghan government falling under the influence of India and accuses the neighbour of using its nine consulates in Afghanistan to train and recruit anti-Pakistan insurgents. With this in mind, Islamabad is using reconstruction funds to build influence there, the report explained.

Pakistan is also likely to take particular exception to the reported training by India of the Afghan National Army, according to the document authored by Kenneth Katzman, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs.

One of the three countries that recognised the Taliban government, Pakistan purportedly viewed the movement as providing it strategic depth against India. Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates were the other two countries having diplomatic links with the Taliban regime.

China has been assisting Pakistan in its rivalry with India in Afghanistan, says the report. China has been allied to Pakistan in part to pressure India, a rival of China. Chinese delegations are visiting Afghanistan to assess the potential for investments in such sectors as mining and energy.