Asad Mirza
THE pragmatic move by India to court Taliban 2.0 has sent ripples in the region, particularly in Pakistan, the common foe of both. This bold move will serve well to safeguard India’s regional security concerns besides helping boost its aim to emerge as a regional leader.
Last week saw an unusual diplomatic development led by India when New Delhi’s top-ranking diplomatic officer, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, held a meeting with the Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, Maulawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, in Dubai.
The January 8 meeting comes in the background of increasing Afghanistan-Pakistan tensions and many see this as India’s move to edge out Pakistan from the Afghanistan equation. But the fact is that India has never given up on either Afghanistan or Taliban. In fact, though not at the diplomatic level yet unofficially Indian establishment has kept a line of communication open with the Taliban since their emergence on the Afghan political landscape in 1996 as Taliban 1.0.
Pragmatically, India has not ignored Taliban at all. In fact, at the Moscow Dialogue of 2017 and the Intra-Afghan Peace Talks of 2020 in Doha, Indian representatives were present. Further India’s Ambassador to Qatar met Taliban representatives at their Doha office. In June 2022 Joint Secretary for Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran met key Taliban leaders paving the way for sending a technical team at the Indian embassy in Kabul. Subsequently, India allowed the Taliban to appoint a new Consul General in the Afghan Consulate in Mumbai.
The recent warming of ties between Kabul and New Delhi is not a sudden development but a result of quiet diplomacy since the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan and India began informal talks with the government.
While there might not be a formal recognition of the Taliban government by New Delhi, India has maintained a neutral and non-judgmental approach. Security sources say the Taliban government has appreciated this non-interference, creating an understanding of mutual acceptance.
Additionally, the alignment of India’s security and strategic interests is equally important to counter Pakistan’s influence. Security officials also emphasise that India has learnt from past experiences, such as the hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane in 1999, and now understands the importance of maintaining relationships with neighbouring states unless there are clear and credible reasons not to do so. In this context, New Delhi is focusing on securing its national security interests at a time when geopolitics in the region is in flux.
At the meeting, the Foreign Secretary reportedly highlighted India’s long-standing friendship with the Afghan people and the deep cultural and social ties shared by the two nations. He assured Afghanistan of India’s commitment to addressing the immediate developmental needs of its people.
The discussions included a review of the ongoing Indian humanitarian assistance programmes in Afghanistan. The Afghan minister expressed gratitude to India for its unwavering support and engagement with the Afghan people. Recognising the current developmental challenges, both sides agreed that India would explore additional development projects soon, complementing its ongoing humanitarian efforts.
India’s humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan has been extensive and diverse since 2021. Responding to a request from Afghanistan, India has committed to further material support, particularly in the health sector and for the rehabilitation of refugees. Both sides also discussed strengthening their collaboration in sports. Additionally, they agreed on promoting the use of the Chabahar Port to enhance trade and provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.
In fact, the Chabahar Port may prove to be a port of promoting multilateral friendship with both Iran and Afghanistan, in addition to many Central Asian republics. The distance from Chabahar to Kabul via Zahedan is only 1,196 kms by road or rail. Thus, the port could serve as an important linkage with Afghanistan in the absence of Pakistan denying India the right of passage through its road or rail network repeatedly. Chabahar Port provides a direct route to Afghanistan through Zahedan without involving Pakistan. Consequently, this also reduces Afghanistan’s dependence on Pakistan for trade and helps build stronger economic ties with India, making trade smoother and more efficient.
Strategically, a growing relationship with Taliban may also help India counter the Chinese push in Afghanistan and other Central Asian countries through its BRI project. Further, an increased mechanism of interaction may help India influence the Taliban to check anti-India elements operating from Afghanistan such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP).
In this regard, it would be judicious for India if it courts Talibani leaders like Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, who was trained at the Indian Military Academy, just like its old friend Hamid Karzai who also studied in India.
Another influence that India could leverage to exert some sort of religious pressure on the Taliban leaders is the leading Indian seminary of Darul Uloom, Deoband. Many of the old-guard Taliban leaders have been tutored at Deobandi madrasas in Pakistan and the border area of Afghanistan-Pakistan, run by several Deobandi alumnus. However, India should ensure that it asks the religious and not the political leaders of Darul Uloom to help in this regard, as such political leaders have no locus standi amongst the Talibanis.
A similar approach has been shown by Taliban leadership also by appointing Ikramuddin Kamil as the acting consul at the Afghan Consulate in Mumbai. The November 2024 appointment marks the first such move by the Taliban in India. Kamil, like Karzai, studied in India for seven years, completing his doctorate from South Asia University in New Delhi on a scholarship provided by the MEA.
So, if the Taliban leaders are ready to employ people who have a connection with India, India can gain a lot by employing people who may have a connection with the Taliban leadership. This could be a win-win situation for both in the long run.
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Asad Mirza is a New Delhi-based senior journalist and a media consultant. The views expressed here are the author’s personal and Clarion India does not necessarily share or subscribe to them. He can be contacted at asad.mirza.nd@gmail.com
