The government is willing to part finance domestic companies in their global bid for the Hajigak iron ore mine in Afghanistan given the strategic importance of the war-torn country for India.

Afghanistan is looking for mining firms to open up a huge iron deposit, holding an estimated 1.8 billion tonnes of high quality ore, but potential bidders face a volatile security situation in a remote, mountainous region.

More than 10,000 ethnic Hazaras protested in the Afghan capital on Tuesday, calling for President Hamid Karzai to resign over killings of their kin by rival Kuchi nomads.

The angry marchers sent police fleeing on the outskirts of Kabul, then chased them until hundreds of officers and soldiers blocked one of the main roads into the city, next to Kabul zoo. The marchers then sat down in the middle of the road until one of their leaders, parliamentarian Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, addressed the crowd and persuaded them to peacefully disperse.