Taliban playing the 'India card' to get recognition, says expert

In an exclusive interaction with ETV Bharat senior correspondent Chandrakala Choudhury, Former Ambassador Jitendra Tripathi said that the Taliban making overtures to India is indicative of the fact that the group knows it can use the India card and try to gain recognition.

New Delhi:Amid the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan that saw thousands of civilians losing lives ever since the Taliban takeover, as a placatory signal to India, Taliban leader Sher Mohammed Stanekzai has said India is "very important for this subcontinent" and that the group wants to continue Afghanistan’s political, economic and cultural ties with India. Experts here say that the Taliban is playing the ‘India card’ to get recognition.

Speaking to ETV Bharat, Former Ambassador Jitendra Tripathi said, “Taliban making overtures to India is indicative of the fact that the group knows it can play the India card and try to gain recognition. In this region, if India recognizes the Taliban, it will make positive differences for the group. If India gets an assurance from the Taliban that no harm will be done to its investments or its nationals staying in Afghanistan then there is no harm for the Indian side in approaching the group”.

Read:Chaos in Afghanistan directly related to disorderly withdrawal of foreign troops: China at UNSC

This statement by the Taliban leader comes at a time when the US military has completed the withdrawal of its forces and also when India has evacuated all its diplomatic staff from the war-torn country after the Taliban takeover.

India has not reacted to Stanakzai’s overture yet but it has taken the Taliban message with utmost seriousness. Apparently, India has reached out to the leadership but will not publicly rush to concede any of this.

However, with the return of the radical Islamists pushing the country to the brink, there are questions as to how India should deal with the Taliban.

Tripathi said that although India has maintained a ‘wait and watch policy on Afghanistan, it has been in indirect touch with the Taliban since 2018 and somewhat in direct touch early this year.

Pointing out India’s External Affairs Minister’s visit to various countries including Iran, ‘a quiet visit’ to meet with the Taliban in Doha or the visit to the UN to discuss the Afghanistan crisis, Tripathi said India is in touch with the Taliban but the government cannot and should not reveal how direct or indirect talks have been because these are policy prerogative.

The former Indian diplomat pointed out that it is the fifth time the Taliban has spoken of maintaining cordial relations with India. Therefore, four of the five statements made by the Taliban spokespersons in the past few days, have been quite in favour of India, he added.

Read: Female TV anchor who interviewed first Taliban spokesman has left Afghanistan

He underlined that India should recognize the Taliban, adding that India has three options-Firstly, to wait and watch and do nothing and wait for the rest of the world to recognize it. Secondly, to wait and watch but at the same time be in touch with the Taliban. And thirdly, to recognize the Taliban government irrespective of whatever faults it has.

“If India does not recognize the Taliban, all the investments or people left behind and most importantly, all the goodwill which India has acquired in the past few years in Afghanistan, will be lost and it will be cornered by the international community”, Tripathi explained.

"In diplomacy, it is said that one door must be kept open for negotiations. India should keep engaging with the Taliban. If shortly, India does not recognize the Taliban, Pakistan and China will fill the vacuum the US has left behind in Afghanistan," he asserted.

Meanwhile, the U.S military shot down rockets aimed at the Kabul airport on Monday morning as violence near the field interrupted the US efforts to meet Tuesday’s deadline to withdraw from Afghanistan and end America’s longest war.

On Sunday, the US carried out its second drone strike in Afghanistan, again targeting the ISIS-K. According to local news sources, ten civilians including six children were killed in the attack. But evacuation work continued uninterrupted as this happened outside the perimeters of the airport.

Now it remains to be seen what the Taliban will do as the US has completed the withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan.