London: The International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS), a leading British defense think tank, has said in a report that both India and the Taliban seem to be keen on building trust and building mutual relations in Afghanistan.
Titled “Strategic Survey 2022, Annual Review of Geopolitics”, the report looks at regional South Asian politics till the end of the year and states that the Taliban’s desire for good relations with India and foreign countries is threefold. There are important reasons. World
The report states: “First, they hope that closer political and economic ties will bring in foreign investment and increase regional trade, and thus much needed government revenue. Second, the Taliban have their want to neutralize any threat to the regime. In particular, they do not want any regional players to provide military and financial support to Afghans opposed to their rule, as India, Iran and Russia did in the 1990s. Third, the Taliban also hope that recognition and good relations with the outside world, especially Western donor countries and organizations, will bring humanitarian aid and development assistance to the country. The Taliban government has repeatedly It has asked the international community to recognize it diplomatically, arguing that it has met all the criteria for it.
The report said that the neighbors of the Taliban accepted and approved the diplomats appointed by the Taliban government, but this did not help the Taliban internationally and the Taliban government realized this.
It added: “India, a major regional player, initially kept a distance, before showing signs that it wanted to engage with the Taliban in different ways. June’s Earlier, an Indian delegation led by the Joint Secretary of its Ministry of External Affairs visited Kabul, the first visit by an Indian official after the Taliban takeover. Senior Indian diplomats met the Taliban government’s foreign minister, deputy foreign minister and met other officials.This was the highest-level meeting between the two sides since the rise of the Taliban movement in 1994.
“The talks were expected to pave the way for India to resume a diplomatic presence in Afghanistan (which ended after the Taliban took over Kabul last August). On June 23, India’s Ministry of External Affairs A statement revealed that New Delhi has deployed a ‘technical team’ at its embassy in Kabul to ‘closely monitor and coordinate’ the delivery of humanitarian aid.
The defense analysis states that Pakistan has been a major supporter of the Taliban but has not recognized the Taliban government because three concerns dominate the world and Pakistan.
“First, foreign governments want the Taliban government to cut ties with, and support, international violent extremist groups — and, above all, for them to threaten their national security on Afghan soil. Do not use. Different countries are concerned about such groups. For the US and the West in general, these are ISIS and al-Qaeda. For China, it is primarily the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM). For Pakistan, , it is primarily TTP. For Iran, Central Asian countries, and Russia, it is primarily ISIS/ISIS–KP. And for India, it is regional groups (such as Lashkar-e-Taiba [LeT] and Jaish in Kashmir). Muhammad [JeM]) as well as al-Qaeda.
The report states that the Taliban have repeatedly insisted that, as outlined in the Doha Agreement, they will not allow any individual or group to use Afghan soil as a base of hostilities against any other country. will not give However, questions have been raised about their ability and commitment to deliver on their promises. On the one hand, the Taliban have maintained links with ‘friendly’ groups, such as al-Qaeda and the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) – the Pakistani Taliban – and have not taken any meaningful and overt action against them. On the other hand, they are fighting against the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISIS–KP), an extremist militant group active primarily in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.”
Rahul Roy Chowdhury, Senior Fellow in South and Central Asian Defence, Strategy and Diplomacy, commented: “India has dynamically reversed its previous policy towards the Afghan Taliban since coming to power in Afghanistan a year ago. By refusing to deal with them and calling them ‘terrorists’, India is now dealing with them in Kabul, even though it is deprived of diplomatic recognition.
“This is a pragmatic policy based on ensuring the delivery of humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan. But, it also symbolises India’s ‘no exit policy’ from Afghanistan. The overland transit of wheat from India to Afghanistan also took place through Pakistan for the first time. Both India and Pakistan have an inherent interest in the stability of Afghanistan under the Taliban regime. In view of the differing political situation in both countries, amidst their pre-occupation on domestic priorities, the resumption of Confidence Building Measures (CBM) including people-to-people contacts, exchange of media visits and trade measures between India and Pakistan appear to be pragmatic policy options to manage their bilateral relations till both sides are prepared for deeper engagement and the resumption of an official bilateral dialogue.”
