India hesitant in Afghanistan, talk to Taliban or not?
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This is from 1999 when an Indian passenger plane was hijacked. The plane was taken to Kandahar Airport in Afghanistan.
The area was then under the control of Taliban fighters. So the Taliban were mediating between the kidnappers and India. This was the first time the Indian government had any contact with the Taliban.
Since then, there has been no formal diplomatic contact between the Indian government and the Taliban. India has always been with the government of Afghanistan.
G. Parthasarathy, then a senior diplomat in India at the time of the hijacking, was also part of a team of government officials who played a key role in freeing the passengers and the plane from the clutches of the hijackers. India also had to release three militants in exchange for the release of passengers and the plane.
Sharing his experience with the BBC, Parthasarathy said it was the first time India had formally worked with the Taliban on what is called "engagement" in diplomatic parlance. No diplomatic talks were held with the Taliban after the incident.
"At that time, we sent an officer to Kandahar who had negotiated several times with a Taliban representative, or so to speak, its most influential commander," he said. India has always supported the government of Afghanistan.
Experts say Indian diplomats fled the country when the Taliban seized power in 1996. Then in 2001, when India expanded diplomatic relations with Afghanistan, US-led NATO forces attacked Taliban strongholds and forced them to retreat.
Strategic experts also believe that now that the Taliban are gaining strength in Afghanistan again and that the time for the withdrawal of US troops is approaching, India faces a new challenge because of the past two years between the US and the Taliban. India had distanced itself from the talks that were going on.
An agreement was also reached between the United States and the Taliban in February this year. The withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan has certainly raised concerns in India, which has spent billions of dollars on various projects and aid over the past 20 years.
India in Afghanistan
In November 2020 alone, India announced 150 new projects in Afghanistan.
Earlier in 2015, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new parliament building in Afghanistan. This building has also been constructed with the help of India. The following year, Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani jointly inaugurated a 42-megawatt power and irrigation project in Afghanistan's Herat Province.
There are many projects that India has started and they are working. The Border Roads Organization (BRO) has also built several major roads in Afghanistan under the auspices of the Indian Ministry of Defense. Officers from the Afghan army, police and civil services have also been trained in India.
Sources in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs say that India is playing an important role not only in humanitarian aid and reconstruction projects but also in the development of educational institutions, oil and gas units, steel industries, power supply infrastructure in Afghanistan, etc. Is.
It is also true that India is the only country in the region that has provided the most economic and other assistance to Afghanistan, not only in providing shelter to refugees, but also in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Is.
Will India talk to Taliban?
In a joint statement with EU Vice President Borwell last month, Indian Foreign Minister SJ Shankar made it clear that India would not support any "Islamic Emirate" in Afghanistan. Clearly, for the Taliban, which portrayed Afghanistan as an 'Islamic Emirate', it was India's clear message that it could never have India's support.
But in view of the changed situation, India is also considering what should be India's position in the situation when the US troops leave Afghanistan in September.
Strategic and foreign affairs experts say it is true that India should not have any relations with the Taliban, but the situation in Afghanistan is becoming such that in 2018, when Russia withdrew from Afghanistan and the Taliban. India had sent a delegation to Moscow for talks.
This was the first time. Then in September last year, when the Doha peace talks on Afghanistan and the Taliban took place, Foreign Minister SJ Shankar attended via video conferencing.
During the talks, India made it clear that no matter what action is taken for peace, the people of Afghanistan must be at the center. India said the process should be based on the Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled formula of Afghan-led and Afghan-controlled.
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Meanwhile, the peace resolution proposed by US President Joe Biden said that there should be a multilateral dialogue led by the United Nations comprising representatives of India, Russia, China, Iran and Pakistan. India has supported this proposal.
It is clear that India is now softening its previous policy.
G. Parthasarathy says, 'Whether India establishes relations with the Taliban or not? Or at what level does he deal with it? It depends on whether the Taliban adopt democratic methods or not.
He believes that the situation is not the same as before and much has changed in 20 years.
According to him, the Taliban's influence is greater in areas where the majority of Pashtun tribes live.
He said: 'Pashtun tribes make up 42% of the whole of Afghanistan. Where their numbers are small, other tribes have more influence. Therefore, in view of the recent violence, it cannot be said that the Taliban are all over Afghanistan and will occupy non-Pashtun areas in particular.
Even before that, a large part of northern Afghanistan was under the control of Ahmad Shah Massoud. There is no Taliban support or influence between the Tajik and Uzbek tribes north of Kabul.
But the Haqqani network, a Pashtun extremist group, has a strong presence in eastern Afghanistan. There are allegations that the group has the backing of Pakistan's secret service. The group was founded by Jalaluddin Haqqani. But diplomats believe the situation has changed with the Pakistani military's crackdown on Pashtuns.
Talks on Afghanistan are also underway in diplomatic circles. Many diplomats believe that when China, the European Union and Russia can negotiate with the Taliban, then India should not lag behind because if India does not 'engage' with the Taliban, then Pakistan will do its best to take advantage of this opportunity. Will do
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