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04 Jun 2022 Taliban government and India

Posted at 15:08h in Daily current-affairs by khyati khare 0 Comments

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For the first time since the Taliban’s occupation of Afghanistan, India has sent an official delegation led by Joint Secretary ‘JP Singh’ in the Ministry of External Affairs to Afghanistan.

In terms of humanitarian aid, India has so far sent 20,000 metric tonnes (MT) of wheat, 13 tonnes of medicines, 500,000 doses of COVID vaccines and winter clothing to the Afghan people.
This aid has been distributed through international organizations like United Nations, World Health Organisation, World Food Program and UNICEF, because India did not have people in Afghanistan to distribute this aid material.

‘Resolution 2593’ was adopted by the ‘United Nations Security Council’ (UNSC) headed by India. The resolution states that the territory of Afghanistan shall not be used to threaten any country or to harbor terrorists.
India participated in the United Nations High-Level Meeting on the ‘Humanitarian Situation in Afghanistan’ held in September. In this meeting, India sought normalization of the regular commercial operations of ‘Kabul Airport’, to help in the flow of relief material to the Afghans.
India hosted the ‘Delhi Regional Security Dialogue’ on Afghanistan held in November 2021.

The Taliban has established complete control over Afghanistan. Since then, people in the country have no jobs and no means of income. More than 22 million Afghans faced food insecurity this winter, and climate change-induced droughts added to their woes. All these conditions are forcing Afghans to choose between fleeing the country or starvation.

The effect of the restoration of Taliban in Afghanistan can spread to its neighboring Central Asian countries like Tajikistan, Uzbekistan etc.
Resurgence of Taliban will revive ‘insurgency’ in this region and this area can become a safe haven for ‘Lashkar-e-Taiba’, ISIS etc.
A civil war in Afghanistan would lead to a refugee crisis in Central Asia and beyond.
Afghanistan’s stability will allow Central Asian countries to access ports located in the Indian Ocean region – by the shortest-distance route.
Afghanistan is an important link for regional trade and culturally, acting as a bridge between Central-Asia and the rest of the world.

The Taliban now have a significant presence in Afghanistan.
India has already invested heavily in Afghanistan. To safeguard its $3 billion assets, India should establish contact with all parties in Afghanistan.
Taliban forging deeper state ties with Pakistan would not be in India’s interest.
If India does not establish contacts now, Russia, Iran, Pakistan and China will emerge as political and geopolitical fortune-tellers of Afghanistan, which will certainly be detrimental to Indian interests.
The US has announced the formation of a “Quad” in the form of ‘America-Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan’, surprising everyone on regional-connections – which does not include India.
India’s attempt to trade with Afghanistan through the Chabahar port to boost its economy is in jeopardy.

There is an urgent need to work collectively to protect the Afghan civilians by stopping the violence perpetrated by the Taliban.
Afghanistan should be given adequate place in Central Asian organization like Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
US, Iran, China and Russia should actively involve India to maintain stability in Afghanistan.
Consolidated action should be taken when refugee crisis arises.
India should establish contacts with Taliban to maintain peace with immediate neighbours.