Turkey to man Kabul airport, seeks Pak help, India in hitch

A new Turkey-Pakistan axis may be emerging in Afghanistan much to India’s detriment, writes senior journalist Sanjib Kr Baruah.

New Delhi: In a sign of improvement in the marred ties between the US and Turkey, top officials from both countries are likely to meet on Thursday (June 24) to discuss the possible handling of the strategically important Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport by Turkey once the Americans withdraw by September 11, 2021.

What makes Kabul airport very important in the scheme of things is that it is the main supply point for men and equipment and other cargo in landlocked Afghanistan. The road link to Kabul from the surrounding areas is tenuous at best because of the manner in which the Taliban is gaining dominance in the surrounding provinces in their latest offensive against the Afghan government.

Many of the about 500 Turkish soldiers are already deployed at Kabul airport as part of non-combat duties under the US-led 36-country NATO ‘Resolute Support’ mission in Afghanistan that began in 2001.

That and the fact that Turkey has offered to facilitate talks between the government and Taliban are indicative of two things.

One, Turkey wants to consolidate its position as a key NATO ally by cosying up to the US paling out the faceoff over the former buying the powerful S-400 air defence missile system from the Russians. President Biden has also been critical about certain rights issues. If Turkey manages to administer Kabul airport well, besides underlining the indispensability of the current Turkish regime, it will have a good positioning within NATO.

Two, it is keen to regain its place of prominence in the Muslim world after traditional leader Saudi Arabia has moved much closer to the US leading to erosion in the House of Saud’s acceptability in leading the ‘Millat-i-Islamia’. Turkey steps into the power game in Afghanistan riding on the back of successful military-diplomatic interventions in Libya and in the recent Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

But what is interesting in this recent development is that Turkey has sought the support and active cooperation from Pakistan, besides Hungary.

Just last week, Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after meeting US President Joe at the NATO summit: “I told (Biden) about our idea to collaborate with Pakistan and Hungary. There is currently a consensus. There is no problem on this.”

Turkey’s keenness to have Pakistan by its side indicates an understanding that any semblance of an order won’t be possible in Afghanistan without Pakistan’s support because of the influence it wields with the Taliban and the Islamist fighters.

For Pakistan too, Turkey’s prominence in Afghanistan will ensure Pakistan’s place on the high table in Kabul.

But it has unfavourable implications for India for several reasons.

One, although never adversarial, India had never cherished close ties with Turkey. Its prominence in Kabul with Pakistan’s support will only ensure erosion of Indian influence in that country.

Two, Turkey’s stand on Kashmir is to India’s detriment. On February 14, 2020, President Erdogan spoke at the Pakistan’s National Assembly and the Senate in a joint parliament sitting. The main takeaway was Turkey’s position of unwavering support to Pakistan on Kashmir. He said in his address: “Today, the issue of Kashmir is as close to us as it is to you (Pakistanis)… No distance can build a wall between the hearts of believers.”

Besides expressing solidarity with Pakistan on Kashmir, it can also be construed as a call to the ‘Ummah’.

These developments make India’s effort to secure a foothold in Afghanistan all the more difficult.

According to Mutlaq bin Majed Al Qahtani, Qatar’s special envoy for counterterrorism and mediation of conflict resolution, Indian officials have secretly met Taliban representatives recently in Qatar, in what is the first time such an admission has come from official quarters. As of now, India recognizes only the Afghan government at Kabul.

But most significantly, a strong Turkey-Pakistan axis in Kabul will be a setback for India as it would mean that Pakistan would no longer be engaged in two fronts—with Afghanistan and India—and instead be able to divert many resources across the border with India.