Taliban fighters guard the site of an explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan. Last month, several explosions and gunfire tore through a Sikh temple in the Afghan capital.
Ebrahim Noroozi / AP
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Ebrahim Noroozi / AP
Taliban fighters guard the site of an explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan. Last month, several explosions and gunfire tore through a Sikh temple in the Afghan capital.
Ebrahim Noroozi / AP
A year ago, India was unhappy about the situation in Afghanistan. The United States is negotiating a withdrawal, the Taliban is consolidating power, and decades of Indian support for the anti-Taliban force are fading.
But just last month, Indian officials traveled to Kabul to meet with Taliban leaders. India has also partially reopened its embassy in Kabul to coordinate humanitarian aid.
So why is India reopening dialogue with the Taliban now? Asfandyar Mir, an expert on international relations and counterterrorism at the American Institute of Peace, says the interests for all parties involved have a long and complicated history.
He joined All things Considered to explain the dynamics between India, the Taliban, and Pakistan, as well as India’s interest in providing aid to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Highlights of the interview
What was the meeting between Indian and Taliban officials last month focused on?
In recent weeks, the Taliban have made a series of public moves towards India, which is indeed an unlikely potential partner country, as the Taliban have allied themselves with Pakistan, an unlikely rival. India’s common heaven. So, in many ways, this is an amazing development.
There is some real tension between the Taliban and the Pakistani government. First, the Taliban took a position contrary to Pakistan’s expectations on the international border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Another reason is that the Taliban are protecting one of the most important anti-Pakistani insurgent groups, the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, also known as the TTP.
So, keeping up with that, Indian policymakers seem to have concluded that there is perhaps enough distance between their arch-rivals Pakistan and the Taliban, that the Taliban are not after all. is a mere proxy of the Pakistanis, and there may be some room for them to forge a working relationship with the Taliban.
On why the Taliban are turning to India for help right now
For many years, they [Taliban] expressed India’s support for the republic under the former Afghan government. And then the Indian embassy was blown up by the Taliban in 2008. So there was a lot of bad blood between the two sides.
So the question is why is the Taliban so interested? And economics can be a big reason. The Taliban are really having a hard time running the country. Their lack of diplomatic recognition makes it difficult for them to finance their own government: resources are short, the country is in a humanitarian crisis, there is food security problem.
Police officers attend a ceremony to receive new military uniforms from the Taliban government in Kandahar in July.
Javed Tanveer / AFP via Getty Images
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Javed Tanveer / AFP via Getty Images
Police officers attend a ceremony to receive new military uniforms from the Taliban government in Kandahar in July.
Javed Tanveer / AFP via Getty Images
The Taliban are hoping that the Indians will increase the supply of wheat to the country. And in the medium term, the Taliban seems interested in India revitalizing its development projects in Afghanistan.
India has built a lot of hospitals, so the Taliban also seem interested in India reviving some of that activity.
On why India might be interested in assisting Afghanistan again
It seems the Indians and the Taliban talked about counterterrorism. So one concern among Indians, before the Taliban came to power, was that like in the 1990s, Afghanistan under the Taliban would become a safe haven for terrorists – and not just terrorists. anti-American terrorism, anti-Western, but also anti-Indian terrorism.
It seems now the Indian government has reached out to the Taliban, and said, “Look, if you want to have a relationship with us, we have to talk about these terror concerns.” So, for their part, the Taliban responded with some assurances similar to those they gave the US government, that they would not allow Afghan territory to be used against India, that the Taliban are telling the Indians that they are even ready to act. about any intelligence the Indians might provide.
On whether there is anything for the United States to gain from this potential new alliance
If the Taliban are responding to India, if they are talking about terrorism, if they are opening up a conversation about human rights with Indians, that could be good news. Also, I would say that if the Indians can actually find an anti-terror treaty with the Taliban, I think that will also be a significant positive step and can provide a channel for the international community. and the United States in particular.
It’s a complicated situation, and my view is that the US should really work with India to maximize the benefits of counterterrorism and any other benefits that may come from India’s engagement. .
This story has been adapted for the web by Manuela Lopez Restrepo.
