Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (R) meets with Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi in Cairo, Egypt, May 30, 2021. (Str/Xinhua/IANS)
The trip is the first formal visit by an Israeli Foreign Minister to Egypt in nearly 13 years….reports Asian Lite News
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his visiting Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi discussed solidifying the ongoing ceasefire in place between Israel and the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip, as well as ways to revive the Israel-Palestine peace process.
The trip is the first formal visit by an Israeli Foreign Minister to Egypt in nearly 13 years.
During their meeting on Sunday, Shoukry and Ashkenazi agreed to continue consultations between the two countries and the Palestinian Authority “to explore ways out of the current stalemate in the peace track”, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The talks also addressed the necessary measures to facilitate the reconstruction of Gaza Strip following the recent Israeli bombings that caused massive damages to the enclave’s infrastructure.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (R) meets with Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi in Cairo, Egypt, May 30, 2021. (Str/Xinhua/IANS)
Egypt has allocated $500 million for the reconstruction.
Ashkenazi’s visit came 10 days after the Egypt-brokered ceasefire on May 21 that ended the 11-day bloodshed in and around the Gaza Strip, which left at least 248 Palestinians and 12 Israelis dead.
During the meeting, Shoukry called for taking further measures during the current truce to reinforce calm and provide the necessary conditions for “creating an atmosphere conducive to reviving the desired political path”.
He also reiterated Egypt’s fixed position in support of the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital based on the 1967 borders.
The Foreign Minister also referred to the two-state solution as “the only way to achieve just and lasting peace, as well as the desired regional security and stability”, emphasizing the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (R) meets with Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi in Cairo, Egypt, May 30, 2021. (Str/Xinhua/IANS)
On his part, Ashkenazi said that “Egypt is an important regional ally, committed to security and stability, and the maintenance and expansion of peace in the region”.
“We all need to act to prevent strengthening extremist elements that threaten regional stability, and to ensure the return home of the missing persons and prisoners held by Hamas,” he said.
The top Israeli diplomat added that he and Shoukry also “discussed enhancing economic and trade cooperation, including the renewal of direct flights between our countries”.
Ashkenazi’s trip to Cairo coincided with Egypt’s sending of a high-profile security delegation to Israel and Palestine to discuss related issues and thetruce.
The security delegation will discuss ways to reach a comprehensive truce in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd R) and Jewish Home party leader Naftali Bennett (2nd L) hold a press conference in Jerusalem
Israel has held four elections in the past two years but all have failed to produce a clear majority…reports Asian Lite News
Opponents of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are expected to form a coalition in order to establish a new government ahead of a deadline which would otherwise mean new elections.
Israel has held four elections in the past two years but all have failed to produce a clear majority, reports dpa news agency.
Former Defence Minister Naftali Bennett of the pro-settler Yamina party has decided to opt for an alliance with opposition leader Jair Lapid of Yesh Atid, Israeli radio reported on Sunday.
An official announcement is expected soon.
Bennett was reportedly planning to inform party members on Sunday.
He agreed with Bennett that the two would share the office of Prime Minister, with Bennett initially to take the role for two years, and then to be replaced by Lapid.
Lapid’s centrist party came in second in the elections on March 23, behind Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud.
After the March elections, Netanyahu had failed to form a government, so President Reuven Rivlin appointed Lapid to do so.
Lapid’s pro-reform party planned to continue coalition talks Sunday with Gideon Saar’s right-leaning New Hope.
Bennett at the pre-election foreign-policy debate at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem(Wikipedia)
It has already reached agreements with the left-liberal Meretz Party, the Labour Party and former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party.
Lapid is trying to ensure the support of several small parties that are far apart on the political spectrum, in order to form a minority government that would be acceptable to Arab deputies.
They are united above all by their rejection of Netanyahu, who is currently being tried for corruption.
However, the smaller parties have widely diverging political goals.
Lapid’s mandate to form a government will run out on Wednesday midnight.
If he succeeds, it would end bring an end to the era of Netanyahu, in office since 2009.
Taliban has besieged seven rural Afghan military outposts across the wheat fields and onion patches of the Laghman province, in eastern Afghanistan…reports Asian Lite News
Since the US troops began leaving Afghanistan since early May, there has been a wave of Afghan military surrendering to the Taliban in rural areas.
Taliban has besieged seven rural Afghan military outposts across the wheat fields and onion patches of the Laghman province, in eastern Afghanistan, reported The Frontier Post.
Ammunition was depleted inside the bedraggled outposts in Laghman province. Food was scarce. Some police officers hadn’t been paid in five months.
By mid-month, security forces had surrendered all seven outposts after extended negotiations, according to village elders. At least 120 soldiers and police were given safe passage to the government-held provincial center in return for handing over weapons and equipment.
Taliban enlisted village elders to visit the outposts bearing a message: Surrender or die.
Taliban
“We told them, ‘Look, your situation is bad — reinforcements aren’t coming,” said Nabi Sarwar Khadim, 53, one of several elders who negotiated the surrenders.
Since May 1, at least 26 outposts and bases in just four provinces — Laghman, Baghlan, Wardak and Ghazni — have surrendered after such negotiations, according to village elders and government officials, reported The Frontier Post.
With morale diving as US troops leave, and the Taliban seizing on each surrender as a propaganda victory, each collapse feeds the next in the Afghan countryside.
Among the negotiated surrenders were four district centers, which house local governors, police and intelligence chiefs — effectively handing the government facilities to Taliban control and scattering the officials there, at least temporarily.
The Taliban have negotiated Afghan troop surrenders in the past, but never at the scale and pace of the base collapses this month in the four provinces extending east, north and west of Kabul.
The tactic has removed hundreds of government forces from the battlefield, secured strategic territory and reaped weapons, ammunition and vehicles for the Taliban — often without firing a shot, reported The Frontier Post.
Taliban
The base collapses are one measure of the rapidly deteriorating government war effort as one outpost after another falls, sometimes after battles, but often after wholesale surrenders.
The surrenders are part of a broader Taliban playbook of seizing and holding territory as security force morale plummets with the exit of international troops. Buyoffs of local police and militia. Local cease-fires that allow the Taliban to consolidate gains. A sustained military offensive despite pleas for peace talks and a nationwide cease-fire, reported The Frontier Post.
“The government is not able to save the security forces,” said Mohammed Jalal, a village elder in Baghlan province. “If they fight, they will be killed, so they have to surrender.”
The surrenders are the work of Taliban Invitation and Guidance Committees, which intervene after insurgents cut off roads and supplies to surrounded outposts.
Committee leaders or Taliban military leaders phone base commanders — and sometimes their families — and offer to spare troops’ lives if they surrender their outposts, weapons and ammunition.
In several cases, the committees have given surrendering troops money — typically around USD 130 — and civilian clothes and sent them home unharmed. But first they videotape the men as they promise not to rejoin the security forces. They log their phone numbers and the names of family members — and vow to kill the men if they rejoin the military, reported The Frontier Post.
“The Taliban commander and the Invitation and Guidance Committee called me more than 10 times and asked me to surrender,” said Maj. Imam Shah Zafari, 34, a district police chief in Wardak province who surrendered his command center and weapons on May 11 after negotiations mediated by local elders.
Taliban attack at the peak in Afghanistan
After the Taliban provided a car ride home to Kabul, he said, a committee member phoned to assure him that the government would not imprison him for surrendering. “He said, ‘We have so much power in the government and we can release you,” Zafari said.
The Taliban committees take advantage of a defining characteristic of Afghan wars: Fighters and commanders regularly switch sides, cut deals, negotiate surrenders and cultivate village elders for influence with local residents.
The current conflict is really dozens of local wars. These are intimate struggles, where brothers and cousins battle one another and commanders on each side cajole, threatened and negotiated by cellphone, reported The Frontier Post.
“A Taliban commander calls me all the time, trying to destroy my morale, so that I’ll surrender,” said Wahidullah Zindani, 36, a bearded, sunburned police commander who has rejected Taliban demands to surrender his nine-man, bullet-pocked outpost in Laghman province.
The negotiated surrenders are part of a broader offensive in which the Taliban have surrounded at least five provincial capitals this spring, according to a Pentagon inspector general report released May 18.
The offensive has intensified since the US withdrawal began May 1. The Taliban have used their control of several major highways to cut off bases and garrisons, leaving them vulnerable. (ANI)
Pakistan may be getting Chinese Covid vaccine shots in return for its approval of projects linked to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI),…reports Asian Lite News
Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) said when it comes to donations, which are led by state-owned Sinopharm, the Chinese government has prioritised participants of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Pakistan may be getting Chinese Covid vaccine shots in return for its approval of projects linked to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
In a report on vaccine diplomacy, thee EIU said that China may also seek to reward Cambodia and Laos with vaccines for their support on territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
EIU said when it comes to donations, which are led by state-owned Sinopharm, the Chinese government has prioritised participants of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The Chinese authorities have not released complete data as to where vaccines have been sent, probably in an attempt to prevent comparisons among countries. News reports indicate particularly large donations have been pledged to Cambodia (1.7 mn doses) and the Philippines (1 mn). China will also provide loans for recipient countries to purchase vaccines; the Chinese government has pledged to extend a $1bn loan to Latin American and Caribbean countries for this purpose.
Such donations serve several purposes. They aim to create a positive environment for future bilateral economic and political co-operation, facilitate the economic recovery of BRI countries (which are in some cases suppliers of commodities for China), and expand China’s soft power through positive local media coverage, the report said.
The Chinese authorities are able to pursue domestic and overseas vaccination drives in parallel because they face less urgency to vaccinate their own residents; China has consistently kept new daily cases under 200 since April 2020.
China has shipped or plans to export or donate Covid-19 vaccines to a total of around 90 countries as of April 22. The number of countries that China supplies will expand if a Chinese vaccine candidate is approved by the WHO and can therefore become part of the COVAX programme.
EIU said Russia and China are aiming to take advantage of a “vaccine vacuum” – a perceived failure of Western states to help in the provision of vaccines. They are also seeking to leverage resentment against Western countries, which have secured access to more than half of the global supply of vaccines this year and are prioritising immunising their own populations. China and Russia are using this situation to their own advantage by presenting themselves as the “saviours” of emerging countries, providing vaccines on an often (although not always) affordable basis to countries that would otherwise struggle to vaccinate their populations.
However, China and Russia are not sending vaccines in equal numbers to all emerging countries. Some, such as Brazil, Chile, Indonesia and Mexico, will get millions of doses. Others, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, will get only a few thousand vaccines, suggesting that this is more of a public relations exercise than a genuine attempt to fill an urgent need.
China and Russia are focusing their efforts on regions where they are courting favours from emerging countries (for instance, Asia for China), directly competing with Western powers for influence (such as eastern Europe, and in particular the western Balkans, for both China and Russia), or where they have only a limited presence so far (as is the case for Latin America, which is traditionally within America’s sphere of influence), the report said.
China and Russia have been sending millions of doses of coronavirus vaccines to (mostly) developing states in recent months. Through this “vaccine diplomacy” operation, Russia and China aim to establish themselves as reliable suppliers of vaccines, strengthen their global presence, and boost their bilateral relations with the many emerging countries where Western influence is declining. China is also trying to restore its global reputation, which took a hit in the early stages of the pandemic, the report said.
“Russia and China are playing a long game with vaccine diplomacy. Their intention is not only to win plaudits for fulfilling a short-term need, but to cement their influence over the long term. Both countries are establishing vaccine facilities across the world and training local workers from emerging countries, betting that such a strategy will boost their presence on the ground for decades to come,” the EIU report said.
In doing so, Russia and China are gaining leverage on the cheap while fulfilling commercial goals. In most cases, they are not donating vaccines, but selling them; in China’s case, state-owned firms are competing with private ones for the supply of shots.
Assistance in the form of vaccines will often come with economic or political strings attached. For instance, Russia started discussions with Bolivia about access to mines producing rare earth minerals and nuclear projects shortly after delivering a consignment of its Sputnik V vaccine. Vaccines may also prove to be a reward for countries that have proved to be reliable partners in the past, EIU said.
Tsering, the political head of the Tibetan people globally known as Prime Minister-in-exile, took oath of office here on Thursday, which was virtually attended by Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama….reports Asian Lite News
Parliamentarians and members of Tibet Support Group in Switzerland, Canada, the UK, Baltic States, the EU, Chile, Germany and Norway have greeted the newly elected Tibetan leadership in exile led by Penpa Tsering, expressing their warm wishes and renewed support to the Tibetan cause.
Tsering, the political head of the Tibetan people globally known as Prime Minister-in-exile, took oath of office here on Thursday, which was virtually attended by Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
Extending warm wishes, the President of Italy-Tibet Inter Parliamentary Group, Luciano Nobili, wrote, “The democratic organisation that the Tibetans, under the leadership of the Dalai Lama, wanted to establish in exile is one of the main reasons for our support.
“The Italy-Tibet Inter Parliamentary Group, which now has 54 members of all political parties represented in the parliament and which I am honored to chair, has already had the opportunity to organise various initiatives related to the Tibet issue within the Italian institutions, the last of which on March 10 this year had the presence by teleconference of your predecessor, Lobsang Sangay.”
MP Uldis Budrikis, Chairman of the Group for the Support of Tibet in the Parliament of Latvia, MP Andrius Navickas, Chairman of the Provisional Group for Solidarity with Tibetans in the Lithuanian Parliament, and MP Yoko Alender, Chairman of the Tibet Support Group in the Parliament of Estonia, have expressed solidarity to the non-violent struggle of Tibetans against Chinese occupation.
“We are sure that you will succeed to bring to your people the independence they aspire for. We, the Baltic States, will stand by you and you can always count on our support. We renew our heartily congratulations on your election and look forward to our cooperation for the well-being of the Tibetan people,” they wrote.
Inviting Tsering to Brussels, the members of Tibet Interest Group in the EU Parliament comprising Mikulas Peksa, Chair of the European Parliament’s Tibet Interest Group, Ausra Maldeikiene, Hannes Heide, Carles Puigdemont i Casamajo, Antoni Comin i Oliveres, Clara Ponsati Obiols, Ivan Stefanec, Patrick Breyer and Michael Gahler applauded the successful completion of the democratic election in Tibetan government in exile.
“We would like to use this opportunity to invite you to Brussels — as soon as the situation allows it — in order to exchange with us about the situation in Tibet and ways in which the European Parliament could contribute to improving the human rights situation of the Tibetan people.
“We look forward to working with you to support a peaceful resolution of the crisis in Tibet through a direct negotiation process between the CTA and the Chinese government in line with the middle-way approach,” they wrote.
Similarly, on behalf of the members of All Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet in the UK Parliament, MP Tim Loughton expressed their wishes to “building on the continuing friendships shared and supporting Tibet cause”.
Canadian MP Arif Virani, the chair of Parliamentary Friends of Tibet, said, “I look forward to welcoming Sikyong Penpa Tsering la to Ottawa and continue working with him and advocating for cultural, linguistic and religious freedoms for the Tibetan people.”
Vice-chair of the group, representing the Conservative Party of Canada, MP Garnett Genuis took to Twitter to congratulate both Tsering and the outgoing Sangay, as he extolled the “commitment of the Tibetan people to democratic institution building.”
Michael Brand, member of the German Bundestag, wrote congratulating the new President that the democratic government such as the Tibetans in exile has set a precedent to world governments, especially the Chinese government in Beijing, that rule of coercion and terror is not the right way of governance but that the rule by the people conquers.
After taking charge, Tsering on Thursday pledged to carry out the responsibility of finding a lasting solution to the decades old Sino-Tibet conflict, besides taking care of the Tibetan people.
General Manoj Mukund Naravane says this is the first step on the long road to normalisation of ties between the two countries, reports Asian Lite News
Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane has said that the restoration of ceasefire in February between Indian and Pakistani militaries along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir is holding, has led to a significant drop in infiltration by terrorists from Pakistan and contributed to the overall sense of peace and well-being in border areas.
“This is the first step on the long road to normalisation of ties between the two countries. We would like the ceasefire to continue. It has definitely led to an improvement in the security situation and benefited civilians living in forward areas,” Naravane said.
In a surprise development, Indian and Pakistani militaries announced on February 25 that they had begun observing a ceasefire along the LoC from the midnight of February 24. India and Pakistan had agreed to a ceasefire on the LoC in November 2003, but it was frequently violated.
The army chief said the ceasefire violations by the neighbouring army were aimed at providing cover to infiltrators. No ceasefire violations by the Pakistan army indicated that infiltration attempts were not being supported, Naravane said.
“Counterterrorism operations will continue. We have no reason to believe that terror infrastructure along the LoC has been dismantled by the Pakistan army,” Naravane said.
India Pakistan border
Peace along the LoC is mutually beneficial, Naravane said. “The population living on either side suffers due to violence along the LoC. I am sure the Pakistan army is also concerned about the population and hopefully the ceasefire will hold,” the army chief said.
After February 24, there has been a solitary instance of cross-border firing along the international border in Jammu sector between the Border Security Force and Pakistan Rangers.
Of the 30 terrorists killed by security forces in Kashmir during the last three months, only one was a foreigner, said officials familiar with the developments. “It’s an indicator that infiltration by Pakistani terrorists has dropped notably. We will have to wait and watch how things unfold as three months is a short window to confirm a pattern,” said one of the officials.
The escalation in ceasefire violations coincided with the first anniversary of the Centre’s move in August 2019 to strip Jammu and Kashmir of its semi-autonomous status that Islamabad reacted sharply to.
‘Troops on high alert at LAC’
Naravane said that the troops are on high alert at Line of Actual Control (LAC), keeping a close watch on the activities of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.
The army chief also pointed that India wants the status quo ante of April 2020 to be restored.
Naravane stated that India has made it clear to China that de-escalation will only be considered once disengagement is completed to the mutual satisfaction of both sides.
He said that Indian troops are on high alert and deployments have not thinned after the disengagement in Pangong Lake.
The army chief maintained that China has deployed around 50,000 to 60,000 troops in Eastern Ladakh in immediate depth, so India has also made mirror deployments in depth.
Naravane also said that India is keeping an eye on the developments on the Chinese side.
He said India is currently concentrating on resolving the outstanding problems at other friction points like Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang along the LAC.
He also pointed out that India’s stand in the disengagement agreement in the Pangong Lake area remained the same, i.e., the status quo ante of April 2020 must be restored.
The army chief also stated that trust levels between the two countries are low, but pointed out that the trust deficit should not hinder the negotiation process.
The 12 rounds of military commander-level talks between India and China to resolve the border issue will take place soon. It has been delayed due to the surge in the number of Covid cases.
General Naravane recently reviewed the operational preparedness of the force along the borders with China in the Arunachal Pradesh region. He went to Dimapur in Nagaland on May 20 on a two-day visit to review the operational readiness along the northern borders of Arunachal Pradesh, and the security situation in the hinterlands of the Northeast region.
India and China are engaged in a year-long standoff along the LAC. The confrontations began on the north bank of Pangong Lake, both in the waters and the bank, as Chinese incursions increased in early May last year.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun congratulated Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday on winning his fourth seven-year term in last week’s presidential election…reports Asian Lite News
Lebanese President Michel Aoun said that his country looked forward to strengthening bilateral ties with Syria in all areas.
His remarks were included in a letter sent to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday to congratulate the latter on winning his fourth seven-year term in last week’s presidential election, Xinhua news agency.
“I sincerely congratulate you on the occasion of your re-election as the president of the brotherly Syrian Arab Republic, hoping efforts will continue in the next phase to stabilize your country and restore cohesion among all its areas,” Aoun said.
The Lebanese leader also confirmed deep historical ties between the two countries.
He also wished for the return of the displaced Syrians to their homeland to participate in the development of Syria.
On May 27, Assad was re-elected for a fourth seven-year term with 95.1 per cent of the ballots in the election in government-held areas and dismissed by the opposition as a sham.
Three contenders, including Assad, ran in the May 26 polls, Syria’s second presidential election since the country’s civil war started in 2011.
The election was condemned as fraudulent by Syria’s opposition as well as countries such as the US, the UK, France, Germany and Italy.
The network has contact with some hotel chains in India, where girls are trafficked, saidn Md Shahidullah, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Tejgaon Division…reports Sumi Khan
A human trafficking network spearheaded by Dhaka’s Tiktok Hridoy, 26, is active across Middle East, India and Bangladesh.
The gang has contact with some hotel chains in India, where girls are trafficked, Md Shahidullah, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Tejgaon Division, disclosed this at a media briefing here on Saturday.
Shahidullah told IANS: “Hridoy has a gang comprising some people from the southeastern districts of Bangladesh and some others from Indian states.”
Recently, Hridoy was in the news after a video of his alleged involvement in the gang-rape and brutal torture of a Bangladeshi girl in India’s Bengaluru went viral on social media.
Assam police had shared clips from the video that was circulating on social media to trace the accused, following which the Bengaluru city police arrested four men and two women in connection with the case.
The Bangladesh police later identified Hridoy from Dhaka’s Maghbazar as one of the perpetrators of the crime.
The rape victim’s father later filed a case with the Hatirjheel police station under the Human Trafficking and Pornography Act on Thursday night.
The victim’s mother said they were unaware that their daughter had been trafficked to another country.
She appealed to the police, “Bring back my daughter right away. I can’t imagine her being so far away, in another country.”
The victim, who had studied up to grade three, had married a man from Chandpur seven years ago. The couple with their three-year-old daughter used to live in Moghbazar. Her husband is a migrant worker who went to Kuwait three years back, and the woman used to regularly visit her parents.
“A little over a year ago, she met her husband’s friend Hridoy in Moghbazar and told me that he would help her find work abroad with her husband. I tried to stop her, but she went anyway,” the victim’s father said.
He alleged that his daughter might have been coerced into going to India. He could not keep in touch with her as he fell ill following the outbreak of Covid-19.
All five Bangladeshis arrested in connection with the incident in India went there illegally, and none of them had passports or visas.
They used to traffic school and college girls by conning them with TikTok related promises, Shahidullah said, adding: “India will investigate the case in its own way and we will probe the matter in our own way. However, since the perpetrators are Bangladeshis, efforts are being made to bring them back to the country through coordination between the two countries. Efforts to bring the survivor back are also being made.”
US soldiers prepare to depart from Kunduz, Afghanistan. (Brian Harris Planet Pix ZUMA_dpa_IANS)
Pentagon officials have said that the US has completed up to 25 per cent of the entire withdrawal process, reports Asian Lite News
A key military US base called the New Kabul Compound (NKC) has been handed over to the Afghan forces, the Ministry of Defence announced.
Fawad Aman, a spokesman for the Ministry, said that at a ceremony on the occasion on Friday, US and NATO forces commander Gen. Scott Miller emphasised the international community’s continued support to Afghan forces, reports TOLO News.
The withdrawal of the US and NATO forces from the country started on May 1.
According to figures provided by US Central Command, the Pentagon has so far removed the equivalent of approximately 160 C-17 loads of material out of Afghanistan and has turned over more than 10,000 pieces of equipment to the Defense Logistics Agency for disposition.
The figures also show that the US had by last week officially handed over five facilities to the Ministry of Defence.
Pentagon officials have said that the US has completed up to 25 per cent of the entire withdrawal process.
Violence however, remains high in the country, especially after the three-day ceasefire from May 13-15.
The Ministry of Defence on Saturday said that at least 210 Taliban were killed in clashes and defensive operations by Afghan forces in 18 provinces, including Kabul, in the last 24 hours.
As the Taliban become increasingly assertive in the ongoing peace talks and potentially set to govern the country again someday, it is vital that New Delhi carves a channel for diplomatic dealings, writes Hollie McKay
As the United States prepares to pull out the entirety of its remaining 2,500 troops from Afghanistan (Liptak, 2021) – a move fast being followed by NATO allies in the war-tattered nation (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation [NATO], 2021a, 2021b) – the onus for security and stability will fall on the regions neighbours.
However, this is a window of opportunity in which India can lead the way. It will not be an easy or simple process. As the Taliban become increasingly assertive in the ongoing peace talks and potentially set to govern the country again someday, it is vital that New Delhi carves a channel for diplomatic dealings.
So far there have been some evident efforts in that direction. Indian officials are taking an increasingly visible role in the various meetings concerning Afghanistan’s future, of which Taliban members have been party. New Delhi will attend the ten-day Istanbul conference starting this week (Aljazeera, 2021; Did Press Agency, 2021).
Of course, India’s history with the Taliban – for instance when it was poised at the Kabul helm from 1996 to 2001 – has been a turbulent one. This is not surprising given the Taliban’s protracted policy of directly and indirectly supporting Pakistani terrorist groups, a policy which has resulted among other things in various skirmishes in Jammu and Kashmir.
Moreover, it is hard to forget the painful hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight in 1999 by five Taliban gunmen, resulting in one passenger being fatally stabbed and 17 being wounded (Joshi, 2020). Allegations of involvement by the Pakistani ISI inflamed the aftermath.
And certainly, the Taliban’s perchance for violence and the ruthless targeting of both Afghan forces and civilians in recent years reminds all the sobering reality that their overarching tactical approach remains unchanged. Furthermore and of course, India’s leaders cannot enthusiastically align with a political faction that ideologically limits the education and vocational opportunities for women and endorses extremist values that amount to violence and terrorism.
The diplomatic dance with the Taliban must therefore be delicate, but not dismissive. Uncomfortable facts are facts nonetheless, and India will need to work with the reality on the ground if – or when – the Taliban resume a potent palace position.
On the plus side, the Taliban’s top brass has not – for some two decades – made explicit anti-New Delhi threats. They were swift to release, following quiet negotiations, the seven captured Indian engineers working in Afghanistan three years ago (The Economic Times, 2019).
The organisation has also refrained from sabotaging or attacking India-backed development projects in Afghanistan – all of which should be perceived as positive tools for the communications arsenal. The success in this area may have stemmed in large part from New Delhi’s non-militarized Afghan strategy.
Rather than bolstering Kabul’s security endeavours with boots on the ground, India’s lawmakers instead opted for a “soft power” approach – focusing its support spending on economic and infrastructure projects, as well as community-centric development and humanitarian aid. The war-splattered nation is the second-largest beneficiary of Indian assistance (Vivek, 2017), shoring up a positive perception of India among much of the Afghan citizenry – a critical puzzle piece for future influence in the embattled nation.
Indeed, India has built up a robust portfolio of strategic interests in Afghanistan – despite its conflicts and volatility. A good example is the $100 million enlargement of the Chabahar port (Zee News, 2014) to serve as an import-export core between Central Asia and Afghanistan.
By opting to play a more pervasive part in Afghanistan, India also stands to secure even closer strategic ties to the United States. Washington has vowed to maintain its diplomatic and humanitarian endeavours in Afghanistan after the military exit, and President Biden has expressed a desire to see neighbouring nations play more prominent roles.
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price announced this month that Secretary Antony Blinken and his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar would work together in advocating Afghanistan cohesion. This of course constitutes the outgrowth of a long and trusting affinity (The Week, 2021).
India can also coordinate its strategy and act as something of an interlocutor for all countries directly impacted by security affairs in Afghanistan – China, Russia, Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar and beyond.
Moreover, the likes of ISIS-K, the Da’esh outfit operating on Afghan terrain, appears relatively small at this stage; there are an estimated 19 other terrorist outfits thought to have a footprint inside the country (Arian, 2017). The Taliban may, in the end, turn out to be a necessary bastion against groups that pose threats both within and outside of Afghanistan’s borders.
However, when assuming responsibilities, India must also be mindful of maintaining a healthy distance from Kabul’s internal security affairs – ramping up developmental support with the goal of long-term stability while giving space for Afghanistan to grow and take shape on its own.
And even though it remains to be seen whether the Taliban takes an increased focus on the contentious Kashmir issue, Suhail Shaheen – a representative for the Taliban’s political wing in Afghanistan – has previously taken to Twitter to espouse that in their policy it “is clear that it does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.” (Gupta, 2020)
For its part, another spokesperson for the Taliban’s political wing – officially termed the Islamic Emirate – also pledged (Gupta 2021) this past week that its foreign policy would “seek positive relations with all its neighbours” on the basic principles of “respect and interaction” (Gupta, 2021).
“The Islamic Emirate does not allow anyone to use the soil of Afghanistan against another country, group or individual. It should also be made clear that the Islamic Emirate will never allow anyone to turn the soil of Afghanistan into an arena of proxy conflicts and disputes,” spokesperson Muhammad Naeem Wardak told CNN News18’s Manoj Gupta (Gupta, 2021), while also doubling down that they do not intend to interfere in any cross-border disputes, including those involving Pakistan.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan calls on all to assist the Afghan people in achieving independence and freedom, in the light of the values of the people, in the establishment of an independent Islamic system and the reconstruction of the country.”
Thus, while India cannot control who takes power in Kabul, it is in India’s best interests to keep the door open to whomever wins the stakes in the months and years to come. Keeping in mind the Taliban’s tenacity over the past two decades of US occupation, and the fact that it is a force which is here to stay.
(The writer a war crimes investigator and author of “Only Cry for the Living: Memos from Inside the ISIS Battlefield”. The view expressed are personal)
