Syllabus: India and its neighbourhood- relations
India-Taliban Relations
- Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi visited India in October.
- India decided to upgrade the technical mission in Kabul to a full embassy, resume stalled infrastructure and welfare projects.
- Muttaqi assured the Taliban won’t allow any group to use Afghanistan’s territory against others, ensuring security.
India’s Objectives
- Protect $3 billion investments (2001-2021) in Afghanistan and build on goodwill earned during the period.
- Ensure Afghan soil is not used by anti-India militants, unlike the 1990s, to prevent security threats.
- Prevent the Taliban from becoming an external arm of Pakistan’s establishment, avoiding regional strategic depth for Pakistan.
Issues with the Engagement
- Recognition Risks
- Taliban has not fundamentally changed ideologically or programmatically since the 1990s despite claims of moderation.
- Only regime barring girls from attending school beyond the primary level, enforced strict segregation, and banned women from workplaces.
- The economy contracted by one-third and 22.9 million Afghans (~half the population) require humanitarian assistance this year.
- Security Concerns
- UN report: Taliban allowed al-Qaeda to consolidate through safe houses, training camps across Afghanistan.
- Taliban remain “the primary partner of all foreign terrorist groups” including al-Qaeda, Pakistani Taliban, Jaish-e-Mohammad, and Lashkar-e-Taiba.
India’s Approach
- Wait-and-watch approach recommended given the Taliban’s uncertain consolidation and economic collapse situation.
- Taliban need India’s assistance more than India needs Taliban, given hostile Pakistan and, collapsing economy.
- Engage the regime bilaterally and through regional/international mechanisms, urging respect for fundamental freedoms of Afghans.
- Afghanistan’s stability depends on economic recovery, political inclusion, and regional integration, not the Taliban’s guns ultimately.
Q- “India’s approach towards Taliban is guided by pragmatism rather than ideology.” Comment. (10 marks, 150 words)
