Reiterating bonds of Afghanistan with India, Afghanistan ambassador to India Shaida Mohammad Abdali said bonds in India and Afghanistan are better than before.

However, he said that his Government would welcome help from India in re-establishing the Buddhas of Bamiyan.

Abdali was talking to mediapersons here at local Afghan hotel. He along with his wife and three daughters is in Bhopal for past two days.

He said that the 4th and 5th-centuries monumental statues of standing Buddha carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamyan valley in Central Afghanistan were demolished by the Taliban in 2001 and led to worldwide outrage.

“Afghanistan got the Buddhas of Bamiyan through its links with India. On the otherhand Indian sub-continent gained Sufism through its connect with from Afghanistan,” said Abdali.

On a private visit to Bhopal, Abdali visited Sehore, Shahjapur and Raisen districts. In Raisen district, he visited Sanchi, the site of UNESCO world heritage site. Sanchi is a Buddhist complex and famous for its great Stupa. It is located on a hilltop Raisen district of the Madhya Pradesh.

Terming destruction Bamiyan was an act of terrorism, Abdali said, “We stand for a culture of Mahatma Gandhi and Bacha Khan was nicknamed the Frontier Gandhi in British India. Their relationship were both personal and political and still holds profound relevance.”

Abdali was hosted by All India Pakhtoon Jargah-e-Hind, a society headed by Saeedullah Khan, whose decedents were from Afghanistan and settled in Bhopal State.

On Friday morning while on his way to Akodia Abdali met his relatives at Mugispur and Dulha Badshah in Sehore district, he was greeted by a number of people. Huge crowd was witnessed to welcome Abdali and his family.