Afghan Envoys Trade Power Deal For Peace With Taliban. What Does This Mean For India?

Admin 19-May-2015 12:34:43 Inothernews

Afghan Envoys Trade Power Deal For Peace With Taliban. What Does This Mean For India?


For the past few decades, Afghanistan has perhaps been the most politically unstable country in south-east Asia. Post 9/11 and the ouster of Taliban from power, there were hopes that there would be a radical change in the situation and a more secure political scenario would be established. But even today, over a decade later, the vision of Afghanistan as a democratic nation, run by a strong government, has not really materialised. Owing to a Taliban led insurgency, which shows no sign of dying down, and most regions of the nation still remaining a war zone, things do not seem to be going well for the Afghan government as per the post 9/11 plan.



In the aftermath of 9/11, India decided to act swiftly and made inroads into a new Afghanistan which had left its bloody past behind and was promising to be a strategically and economically beneficial partner, given the unpredictable relationship with Pakistan.

On account of investment and help, India came to be seen as a reliable friend by the Afghan people and their government. When the US decided to hold peace talks with the Afghan Taliban few years earlier, it seemed that there was still hope for a strong resolution to bring stability to the most volatile region in India’s neighbourhood. But with time, these hopes dwindled out with the negotiations going on the backburner and the Afghan government was left alone to deal with the Taliban.

The latest move by Afghan leader Ashraf Ghani to resume talks in Qatar, which comes after an audacious attack by Taliban in Kabul, seems well intended. But what’s worrying is the agenda with which they are moving forward. Ghani hopes to seal a deal with the Taliban according to which the extremist group will not only be politically legitimate but will also share power in the governance of Afghanistan. This turn of events, given the history of the Taliban and India, is a matter to be taken seriously by New Delhi.

Ever since the emergence of the Taliban and the public execution of India’s close ally Najibullah at their hands, India has been highly critical of the Taliban and has supported their strongest adversaries, the northern alliance.

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Religious extremist groups like Lashkar-e-Toiba and Hizbul Mujahideen involved in running an insurgency in Kashmir, are believed to have close ties with the Afghan Taliban.

When Indian Airlines flight 814 was hijacked in December 2000, the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan not only allowed the terrorists to land the plane in Kandahar but also moved its militants close to the aircraft to prevent a possible intervention by India's special forces. They also ensured a safe passage for the hijackers post the release of three terrorists by India.

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