Courting Taliban

It has taken India a while to realise that the Taliban are going nowhere. They are here to stay, for better or worse, and it’s worthwhile to engage with them rather than wait interminably for the restoration of democracy in Afghanistan. New Delhi is no longer insisting that the regime should protect the rights of all sections of the Afghan society, especially women, children and minorities. Such lofty aspirations don’t really matter when there are geopolitical points to be scored. There is a lot of catch-up to be done as China and Russia have been quick off the blocks on the Afghan front. The Taliban, though still deprived of international legitimacy, are making their presence felt by gaining the support of key regional players. Every ally counts as Pakistan has upped the ante against Afghanistan over alleged sheltering of terror groups.

The meeting between India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Taliban’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai marks a pivotal moment for bilateral ties as well as multilateral equations. New Delhi has signalled that its strategic and economic interests will take precedence over everything else. Last year, India had thumbed its nose at the US-led West by signing a 10-year deal with sanctions-hit Iran to operate the Chabahar port. The move was aimed not only at boosting India’s trade links with Afghanistan and Central Asia but also bypassing the ports of Karachi and Gwadar in Pakistan. Chabahar figured in the Misri-Muttaqi talks too, with its potential use for sending humanitarian aid to Afghanistan being vital for New Delhi’s goodwill mission.

For all intents and purposes, India has granted recognition to the Taliban regime, though it will not say that in so many words. What’s more, New Delhi has pulled off a diplomatic triumph by pushing an insecure Islamabad into a corner.