Why India is now lending a helping hand to the Taliban


Indian Foreign Minister Vikram Misri met with Afghan Acting Foreign Minister Maulavi Aamir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai. (Photo credit: X/@MEAIndia)my india

Indian Foreign Minister Vikram Misri meets Afghan Acting Foreign Minister Aamir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai

India’s recent diplomatic engagement with the Taliban government in Afghanistan marks a significant shift in India’s view of the geopolitical realities in the region.

More than three years ago, India suffered a major strategic and diplomatic blow Kabul falls to Taliban.

Two decades of investment in Afghan democracy — through military training, scholarships and signature projects such as building a new parliament — quickly evaporated. The collapse also paves the way for greater influence from regional rivals, particularly Pakistan and China, eroding India’s strategic foothold and raising new security concerns.

However, there was a shift last week. India’s top diplomat Vikram Misri met the Taliban’s acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai, the highest level of contact since the fall of Kabul. The Taliban has expressed interest in strengthening political and economic ties with India, calling it an “important regional and economic power”.

The talks reportedly focus on expanding trade and utilizing Iran’s Chabahar port, which India has been developing to bypass Pakistan’s Karachi and Gwadar ports.

How significant is this meeting? Michael Kugelman of the Wilson Center, an American think tank, told me that Delhi has now given the Taliban leadership the de facto legitimacy it has sought from the international community since its return to power.

“The fact that this treatment is coming from India – a country that has never had friendly relations with the Taliban before – makes this all the more important and a diplomatic victory for the Taliban,” he said.

AFP December 26, 2024 Taliban security personnel inspect a damaged car two days after a Pakistani airstrike in the Barmar district of eastern Paktika province. The Taliban government said on December 25 that Pakistani air strikes on Afghanistan's eastern border killed 46 civilians, while a Pakistani security official said the bombing targeted "terrorist hideout".AFP

Pakistan airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan kill dozens days before India-Taliban talks

Since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, countries have taken varying approaches to the regime, balancing diplomatic engagement with concerns about human rights and security. China, for example, has gone very far: it has actively engaged with the Taliban, focused on security and economic interests, and even engaged with the Taliban. ambassador in the country.

No country has yet officially recognized the Taliban government, but as many as 40 countries maintain some form of diplomatic or informal relations with it.

That’s why experts like Jayant Prasad, India’s former ambassador to Afghanistan, are more cautious about India’s outreach.

He said India has been in touch with the Taliban through diplomats for the past three years. India closed its consulate in Afghanistan during the civil war in the 1990s and reopened it after the war ended in 2002. “We don’t want this disruption to happen again, so we want to be part of it. It’s just a step forward in the relationship,” he said.

India has “Historical and civilizational connections” India has invested more than $3 billion (£2.46 billion) in more than 500 projects across Afghanistan, including roads, power lines, dams, hospitals and clinics,” Foreign Minister S Jaishankar told parliament in 2023. It Afghan officials were trained, thousands of scholarships were awarded to students, and a new parliament building was built.

This reflects enduring geopolitical realities. The Indian Express said: “Whatever the nature of the regime in Kabul – monarchy, communist or Islamist – there has always been a natural warmth between Delhi and Kabul.” famous.

Mr. Kugelman echoed that sentiment. “India has an important legacy as a donor of development and humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, which has translated into goodwill among the Afghan public and Delhi does not want to lose that goodwill,” he said.

Interestingly, relations with Delhi appear to be thawing at a time when tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan are rising. Pakistan claims the hardline Pakistani Taliban (TTP) operates from safe havens in Afghanistan.

In July last year, Pakistan Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told the BBC that Pakistan would Continue to attack Afghanistan as part of counter-terrorism operations. Pakistani airstrikes killed dozens of people in eastern Afghanistan days ahead of talks between India and the Taliban, according to the Afghan government. The Taliban government condemned the attack as a violation of its sovereignty.

AFP December 26, 2024 Taliban security personnel gather at the scene two days after Pakistan launched an airstrike in the Barmar district of eastern Paktika province. The Taliban government said on December 25 that a Pakistani airstrike on the eastern border with Afghanistan killed 46 civilians, while a Pakistani security official said the bombing targeted "terrorist hideout". AFP

Experts say Taliban has full control of Afghanistan

It marks a sharp deterioration in relations between the two countries since the fall of Kabul in 2021, when a senior Pakistani intelligence official was one of the first foreign guests to meet the Taliban regime. At the time, many viewed the fall of Kabul as a strategic setback for India.

“While Pakistan is not the only factor pushing India to intensify its engagement with the Taliban, Delhi does score a big win in its long-term competition with Pakistan because it is closer to an important long-term asset that Pakistan has now turned to its Predecessors.” Mr. Kugelman said.

There are other reasons to promote outreach. India aims to strengthen connectivity and access Central Asia, which it cannot reach directly by land as Pakistan refuses to provide transit rights. Experts say Afghanistan holds the key to achieving this goal. One strategy is to develop the Chabahar port in partnership with Iran to improve access to Central Asia via Afghanistan.

“Delhi can more easily focus on the Afghan component of the plan by engaging more closely with the Taliban leadership, which fully supports India’s plan as it will help strengthen Afghanistan’s own trade,” Kugelman said. and interconnection.”

Officials attend the inauguration ceremony of the first export convoy to India via Iran at Chabahar seaport in Iran on February 25, 2019.Getty Images

The first export fleet from Iran to India in 2019 held a sailing ceremony at Chabahar Port

Clearly, India’s recent outreach has helped advance its core interests in Taliban-led Afghanistan: preventing terrorist threats to India, deepening ties with Iran and Central Asia, maintaining public goodwill through aid, and confronting struggling of Pakistan.

What about the disadvantages?

“The main risk in strengthening ties with the Taliban is the Taliban itself. We are talking about a violent and brutal actor with close ties to international terrorist groups, including Pakistan, which has done almost nothing to reform itself since the 1990s. ‘s started,” Mr. Kugelman said.

“India may be hoping that if it gets the Taliban on side, so to speak, the Taliban will be less likely to harm India or its interests. That may be true. But at the end of the day, can you really trust an actor?” Like the Taliban Same? This will be a troubling question for India as it continues to cautiously pursue this complex relationship. “

Despite concerns over the Taliban’s treatment of women, Prasad does not believe India’s current engagement with Afghanistan will have any negative impact. “The Taliban have complete control of the situation. Letting the Taliban fend for themselves will not help the Afghan people. Some engagement with the international community may force the government to improve its behavior.”

“Remember, the Taliban crave recognition,” Mr. Prasad said. “They know this will only happen after internal reforms.” Such as bringing women back into public life and restoring their rights to education, work and political participation.



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