English Article

Engaging The Taliban

India and regional powers should ensure that the Afghan rulers respect their people’s rights

India’s participation in a meeting of 10 nations with Taliban officials in Moscow and the signing of a joint statement that recognised the “new reality” in Afghanistan signal a decisive shift in the country’s approach towards the Islamist group. India had earlier taken a strong position against any kind of engagement with the Taliban. In recent months, when the Taliban were making steady advances towards Kabul, India had established contacts with the Taliban’s political office in Doha, (the capital of Qatar) but this is the first time India met a top Taliban delegation, which included Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi, and, according to a Taliban spokesperson, promised to send aid. India has vital interests in Afghanistan. Over the 20 years, it has made investments worth billions of dollars which it would want to be protected. Last time the Taliban, which have close ties with anti-India terrorist groups such as Lashkar and the Jaish, were in power, India saw a rise in violent incidents in Kashmir as well as the hijacking of an Indian plane to Kandahar.