India and Afghanistan signed three accords today committing the two countries to healthcare (US$50m), education and agricultural cooperation (US$5m) and future scientific research that have to make Pakistan a bit wary. Afghanistan, prior and during the Taliban regime, was fully in Pakistan's pocket (via the active collaboration between the Pakistani secret service, ISI) and served as a mujahideen training ground for various fronts, particularly the problematic Kashmir region between India and Pakistan. Is this the start of a new "cold war" between India and Pakistan? If it is, the nation in the middle - Afghanistan - could reap the benefits of playing the two rivals against one another - something that'd prop Afghanistan up further as a success story spurred from American intervention.
Economically, India sees Afghanistan as a route into central asia as well as a potential trading partner for resources, such as oil and natural gas - two things Afghanistan has in attractive supply.
Pakistan's not keen on giving India transit rights across Pakistan to Afghanistan due to, officially, the Kashmir issue, but more than likely due to the potential economic benefits a new regional market (Afghanistan) would give to India. Pakistan's slow economy could be flooded by cheaper Indian imports.
Politically, India's foothold in Afghanistan could subvert any pro-Pakistani or pro-Kashmiri independence sentiments - continuing the fight for an independent or Pakistan-aligned Kashmir region is a main goal of the strong Islamist movement in Pakistan.
"We want Afghanistan to emerge as a democratic, independent, sovereign country, in full mastery of its own destiny... It is in our interest to ensure that Afghanistan does not once again become a kind of a centre of extremism or terrorism. Anything that threatens Afghanistan's stability is a matter of concern for us" - Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran