India and Pakistan ramp up aid as they jostle for influence in Kabul --- (Reuters) - India's most important message for Afghanistan is that it is not leaving, and it is backing that message with the biggest aid package it has ever given another country. -- Indian diplomats insist the message is meant as reassurance for allies in Afghanistan nervous about waning international support as NATO withdraws its troops. Yet it could equally have been chosen to send a warning to India's arch-rival, Pakistan. -- The nuclear-armed neighbors both want to secure influence in Kabul after foreign combat forces leave this year, and both are using aid as part of their strategy. -- India's $2 billion aid package includes several big projects, including a white marble parliament in Kabul that is rising up next to the blasted ruins of the old king's palace. -- Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan are rockier. Afghan President Hamid Karzai regularly accuses Pakistan of supporting Taliban militants, and has curtly made clear he cares more about security than Pakistani aid. -- "This is a very sensitive situation. Both are powerful, important allies," said Senator Arifullah Pashtoon, chairman of Afghanistan's foreign relations committee. -- "India is our friend. But Pakistan is our twin." -- A handsome new cream-and-red sandstone building in New Delhi houses the Indian agency overseeing foreign projects. Created in 2011, the agency's 25 officers oversee billions of dollars. An official, who declined to be identified, estimated India is expanding such projects by about 20 percent a year. -- The agency is determined to do things differently from the donors who used to patronize India. Overheads are minimal: just one person in India's Kabul embassy oversees the Afghan package and all money goes through the Afghan government budget. -- "We are not going to link development to political demands," the Indian official said. "We have experienced the futility of doing this, ourselves." - More, http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/04/us-afghanistan-india-aid-idUSBREA230PW20140304