The Taliban regime has defined itself narrowly and India’s game plan will have to evolve as the situation unfolds.
NS new Taliban regime And its guru in pakistan Adequate luck is needed to successfully rule Afghanistan. It will not be as easy as their swift military victory. The regime has defined itself narrowly, and embracing extremist personalities instils confidence in neither the Afghan people or the international community. Afghanistan is a diverse, freedom-loving country, proud of its heritage and sovereignty. Its spirit has always been republican. Attempts to control it from outside have always failed.
Pakistan Connection
Pakistan nurtured and shaped the Taliban. It is, therefore, no surprise that the logistics and advice of the Pakistani military aided the Taliban’s march to Kabul. Pakistan’s special forces, attack helicopters and drones were crucial in striking a balance against the National Resistance Front in Panjshir. Chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of the Pakistan Army, Lt Gen Faiz Hameed visits Kabul in full glare of propaganda To underline Pakistan’s ownership of the Taliban’s ascent in Afghanistan, inviting spontaneous protests across Afghanistan.
Lieutenant General Hameed achieved two of his three objectives: to ensure that the newly formed Taliban government included representatives from Pakistan, including four members of the Haqqani network which is close to the ISI, and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, The Taliban’s mildest face and former frontrunner for the job of head of government did not get the position (amidst rumors on social media of his death, he released an audio statement saying he was alive). While Lieutenant General Hameed may have achieved Pakistan’s goal of keeping Mullah Baradar out of policy-making in Afghanistan, sidelined and promoted the interests of the Haqqani network, resulting in an all-male and Pashtun-dominated Taliban government will make it difficult. To demand international recognition for Pakistan and aid to the fledgling government.
In fact, the Taliban government is a truthful one of terrorism. Many of its members are on the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee’s terrorist list and the European Union’s list of terrorists subject to restrictive measures. The United States detention center in Guantanamo Bay has sparked a sense of solidarity among Taliban leaders imprisoned there, four of whom now hold senior positions in the Taliban cabinet. The head of the Haqqani network, the new Interior Minister, Khalifa Sirajuddin Haqqani, has an unrestricted Prize for Justice program, with the United States Department of State awarding him a $10 million bounty, while his uncle, the Minister of Refugee and Repatriation, Khalil -Ur-Rehman Haqqani, previously named as Kabul’s security chief, has a $5 million bounty. The Haqqani network was responsible for the July 2008 bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul, in which India’s defense attache and his political advisor were killed.
unresolved factionalism
Taliban politics is characterized by intense factionalism and a lack of consensus. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid described the Taliban government as an interim government, perhaps to signal hope for a more liberal regime in the future. This is unlikely, as there is actually any concession to women’s participation in governance or the restoration of human rights. Mujahid spoke of protecting the rights of minorities and the downtrodden. Yet, there is not a single woman or Hazara in the Taliban cabinet, which is full of hardliners.
The intense partisan rivalry and maneuvers for the division of the booty were visible in the way forces from various Taliban factions rushed to capture key vantage points in Kabul. The respective heads of the Taliban’s military commissions in eastern and western Afghanistan, Qayyum Zakir and Sadar Ibrahim, took over the defense and interior ministries. He was quickly named acting Minister of Defense and Interior. It has since been reversed. The new defense minister is Maulavi Yacoub, son of Mullah Omar, the former Amir-ul-Mominin of the Taliban. As the new interior minister, Caliph Siraj oversaw the appointment of governors. Mullah Baradar has been neutralized by appointing two other Qandaharis: Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund as head of government, and Amir Khan Muttaki as foreign minister.
state of existence
In his first statement after being named the new Amir-ul-Mominin of Afghanistan, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada made a worthy commitment to uphold international laws – only those that “do not contradict Islamic law and the country’s national values”. While the Taliban will continue to reiterate its assurances of allowing the use of its territory against the security interests of another nation, its ties with Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations are unlikely to be severed.
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Afghanistan is going through a crisis. An immediate challenge for the Taliban will be to rein in their young commanders and fighters, with the threat that dissident elements among them may join hands with the Islamic State of Khorasan (IS-K) or Daesh. Since all Islamic terrorist organizations are ideologically and organizationally linked with each other, another problem would be to control other terrorist groups that are turning to Afghanistan as their refuge. There has already been a significant increase in Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (or Pakistan Taliban) attacks in Pakistan.
There will be sporadic insurgency and violent repression in Afghanistan. Given the composition of the Taliban’s leadership and their ideological base, their political and military integration is likely to continue, regardless of whether over time it may trigger external support for the resistance. If fragmentation occurs within its ranks, the Taliban regime will soon be tested.
Another challenge for the Taliban regime is the growing resentment against it. Afghan National Resistance Front leader Ahmed Massoud’s recent call from all Afghans to protest “a slave and subjugated future” and increased support for the defense of the Afghan Republic resulted in demonstrations in several cities, mainly women. She was Chief. Even though these ended after harsh repression, the anti-Pakistan and pro-republican sentiments expressed in protest put the Taliban regime on the back foot.
Afghanistan is facing frozen reserves, absence of banking services and liquidity, rising prices of food, medicines and other essential commodities, currency depreciation, unemployment and collapse of services and manufacturing. There is no money for public finance or administration – no prospect of pay for government employees – as 80% of Afghanistan’s last approved annual budget of $5.5 billion was funded by external aid.
New Delhi’s response
Given the uncertainties, India’s game plan will have to evolve as the situation unfolds, which is not a call for strategic restraint or skillful inaction. For the time being, India should refrain from recognizing the Taliban regime. India must be accountable to its publicly declared commitments relating to the right of Afghans and foreign nationals to leave Afghanistan in a safe, secure and orderly manner, and that Afghan territory can be used to threaten or threaten any UN member state. will not be used to attack. National Security Council Resolution 2593 (UNSCR 2593), adopted during India’s presidency of the Council. UNSCR 2593 also reaffirmed the importance of upholding human rights and encouraged all parties to seek an inclusive dialogue solution. The logical step out of this would be for India to reinstate students and those who grant medical visas and temporary visas for fear of persecution. The Indian Embassy and its consulates in Kabul will have to wait for an enabling environment to function safely in order to resume their humanitarian and development assistance.
Jayant Prasad was the Ambassador of India to Afghanistan from 2008 to 2010
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