BENGALURU: With the Taliban taking over Afghanistan, India needs to initiate backchannel talks with it as the militant group has lauded Indian development projects in the country, and perhaps a section within it to work with New Delhi. Could be open, think experts.
Experts examined the impact of a hasty US-troop withdrawal and the strategic void that would push Afghanistan 20 years earlier during a webinar on “Contemporary Dimensions of the Regional Security Landscape in Afghanistan.”
Former Ambassador to Jordan and Libya, Anil trigunayat, who is now a coveted partner Vivekananda International FoundationNew Delhi said the sudden withdrawal of US forces has created a political and security vacuum in Afghanistan, which is attracting several outside players, including China, Russia and Iran, in addition to the already embedded Pakistan. “India will have to take a calibrated approach, engage with regional countries, especially through Russia, Qatar and Iran; Also start backchannel talks with Taliban as it appreciates Indian development projects.”
Trigunayat said that it is also appropriate that the President of India should be United Nations This month the Security Council, which could provide New Delhi with an early advantage in aiding the Afghan people.
But Dr Meena Singh Roy, a West Asia scholar who visited Afghanistan in 2017, told TOI that the options for India are shrinking.
Labeling the Taliban’s progress as a “strategic surprise that the international community failed to predict”, Dr Roy said the major concern was whether India could rely on the Taliban. “Maybe a section within the Taliban is open to working with New Delhi. One thing is clear that Pakistan will intervene to take advantage of the situation and use a section of Taliban against India. How successful Pakistan will be, it remains to be seen. But for now, India’s priorities are to bring Indians and their friends back to Afghanistan by adopting smart diplomacy from its old contacts and with the Taliban leadership,” she said.
On 18 August, India evacuated all of its embassy personnel, including the ambassador from Kabul and the Ministry of External Affairs created a 24×7 special Afghanistan cell in New Delhi to assist in the evacuation of Afghans from the war-torn country.
Divya Malhotra, assistant director of the National Defense University’s (RRU) School of Strategic Studies, feels instability and violence in Afghanistan could spread to the neighborhood despite Taliban assurances of peace.
“If history is any guide, what happens in Afghanistan does not stay in Afghanistan. “India should be prepared to deal with the threat of a Taliban-Pakistan alliance,” says Malhotra, who visited Kabul in 2017.
During the webinar, an Afghan scholar from India urged the international community, especially allies in Afghanistan, to take cognizance of the situation and extend their support. “The collapse of the Afghan government after the US withdrawal was inevitable and the lives of all who support democracy and the rights of women/children are now in danger.”
Another Afghan researcher, requesting anonymity, said, “Today the US is comfortable with Taliban control of Afghanistan and Washington will continue to negotiate with them, as long as its interests are served.”
Professor Bidanda Chengappa, secretary of the Institute for Contemporary Studies, Bangalore, agrees with the Afghan researchers, saying that this political and social crisis demands immediate action by the international community.
“The images of the Afghanistan crisis are reminiscent of the partition in the subcontinent in 1947-48; The context differs, but there may be a similarity between uncertainty, fear and struggle for the existence of refugees on either side of the Indo-Pak partition. This political and social crisis demands immediate action by the international community through the United Nations (UN). today’s silence a Such a critical juncture equates to the failure of the collective security apparatus of the international system,” Professor Bidanda Chengappa, secretary, Institute of Contemporary Studies, Bangalore, told TOI.
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) met in New York on 16 August to discuss the Afghanistan issue. It was chaired by TS Tirumurti, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations.
Meanwhile, the collapse of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) has also shocked the world. Col Deepak Joshi (Retd), Director of the School of Strategic Studies at RRU, said that the failure of the ANSF raises serious questions on the quality of training given to them. US / NATO Allies “show that in the face of low morale and motivation even the most modern equipment and best training fail. Taking advantage of this, the Taliban managed to negotiate with local political groups and military commanders to dominate the new political reality in Afghanistan.
Experts examined the impact of a hasty US-troop withdrawal and the strategic void that would push Afghanistan 20 years earlier during a webinar on “Contemporary Dimensions of the Regional Security Landscape in Afghanistan.”
Former Ambassador to Jordan and Libya, Anil trigunayat, who is now a coveted partner Vivekananda International FoundationNew Delhi said the sudden withdrawal of US forces has created a political and security vacuum in Afghanistan, which is attracting several outside players, including China, Russia and Iran, in addition to the already embedded Pakistan. “India will have to take a calibrated approach, engage with regional countries, especially through Russia, Qatar and Iran; Also start backchannel talks with Taliban as it appreciates Indian development projects.”
Trigunayat said that it is also appropriate that the President of India should be United Nations This month the Security Council, which could provide New Delhi with an early advantage in aiding the Afghan people.
But Dr Meena Singh Roy, a West Asia scholar who visited Afghanistan in 2017, told TOI that the options for India are shrinking.
Labeling the Taliban’s progress as a “strategic surprise that the international community failed to predict”, Dr Roy said the major concern was whether India could rely on the Taliban. “Maybe a section within the Taliban is open to working with New Delhi. One thing is clear that Pakistan will intervene to take advantage of the situation and use a section of Taliban against India. How successful Pakistan will be, it remains to be seen. But for now, India’s priorities are to bring Indians and their friends back to Afghanistan by adopting smart diplomacy from its old contacts and with the Taliban leadership,” she said.
On 18 August, India evacuated all of its embassy personnel, including the ambassador from Kabul and the Ministry of External Affairs created a 24×7 special Afghanistan cell in New Delhi to assist in the evacuation of Afghans from the war-torn country.
Divya Malhotra, assistant director of the National Defense University’s (RRU) School of Strategic Studies, feels instability and violence in Afghanistan could spread to the neighborhood despite Taliban assurances of peace.
“If history is any guide, what happens in Afghanistan does not stay in Afghanistan. “India should be prepared to deal with the threat of a Taliban-Pakistan alliance,” says Malhotra, who visited Kabul in 2017.
During the webinar, an Afghan scholar from India urged the international community, especially allies in Afghanistan, to take cognizance of the situation and extend their support. “The collapse of the Afghan government after the US withdrawal was inevitable and the lives of all who support democracy and the rights of women/children are now in danger.”
Another Afghan researcher, requesting anonymity, said, “Today the US is comfortable with Taliban control of Afghanistan and Washington will continue to negotiate with them, as long as its interests are served.”
Professor Bidanda Chengappa, secretary of the Institute for Contemporary Studies, Bangalore, agrees with the Afghan researchers, saying that this political and social crisis demands immediate action by the international community.
“The images of the Afghanistan crisis are reminiscent of the partition in the subcontinent in 1947-48; The context differs, but there may be a similarity between uncertainty, fear and struggle for the existence of refugees on either side of the Indo-Pak partition. This political and social crisis demands immediate action by the international community through the United Nations (UN). today’s silence a Such a critical juncture equates to the failure of the collective security apparatus of the international system,” Professor Bidanda Chengappa, secretary, Institute of Contemporary Studies, Bangalore, told TOI.
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) met in New York on 16 August to discuss the Afghanistan issue. It was chaired by TS Tirumurti, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations.
Meanwhile, the collapse of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) has also shocked the world. Col Deepak Joshi (Retd), Director of the School of Strategic Studies at RRU, said that the failure of the ANSF raises serious questions on the quality of training given to them. US / NATO Allies “show that in the face of low morale and motivation even the most modern equipment and best training fail. Taking advantage of this, the Taliban managed to negotiate with local political groups and military commanders to dominate the new political reality in Afghanistan.
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