New Delhi: India has never approved the theory of ‘Good Taliban’; and there is merit in that argument.
A few years ago, an Afghan official at a seminar addressed by an Afghan leader in Delhi told this scribe – Living and travelling in Afghanistan is like wandering through shadows of shattered hopes and destroyed structures.
On little probing, he had further said – “I am a serving officer, do not quote me. But if Russians had destroyed our territory and the US destroyed our confidence; the Pakistanis have over the years destroyed our liberal culture”.
In circa 2021 as the Taliban 'take over' by violence route looks possible and alarming, it may not be wrong to say that
the US-led forces over the years should have also focused on ‘suitable doctrines’ to handle the psychological
along with the physical impact the terrorist attacks and subsequent warfare have left.
There is no gainsay to point out, according to experts that Pakistani-instigated violence, that political uprising, assistance to Taliban and constant subversive activities attained dangerous dimensions in Afghanistan.
One strategic expert and a former military man summed up the paradox well.
“Pakistan has pursued its terrorism as an instrument of foreign policy both against India and also Afghanistan.
The Taliban’s violence undermined national cohesion and also eroded credibility of Afghan forces and the legitimate government,” he said adding thus it is essential to understand that attacks those result in localised damage would require a different kind of response than that which left large consequence.
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| Vajpayee with Nawaz Sharif |
It is true after US successfully fought the Russians in Af-Pak region, Pakistan with the help of ‘generous cash flow’ from Saudi world and Osama bin Laden actively launched long term project to gain control over Afghanistan ‘to install’ a pro-Islamabad Taliban regime – notwithstanding how anti-democratic that dispensation was.
Thus the real Taliban-Al Qaeda threat required a high level of regional-level response which may not be conventional or symmetrical.
The Pak-sponsored terrorism had over the years gradually developed into a kind of neo-fundamentalist assault
launched through surrogates to destabilise Afghanistan as they have done in Jammu and Kashmir also.
The US also gave ‘proverbial green light’ to Pak-Saudi designs to push the Wahaabi version of Islam and Madrasas were set up to indoctrinate young Pakistanis and Afghans.
The ‘objective;’ to capture Kabul was first achieved in 1996 but the US military policy at later stage never sought to address these fundamental issues.
There is a similarity in ‘geo-strategic’ conditions between what Joe Biden has inherited in 2021 and what Barack Obama had inherited from his predecessor George W Bush.
Unfortunately, both the Trump administration and now the Biden dispensation too suffer from ‘a prescriptive deficiency’ as their predecessors.
One major deficiency is to mix facts with illusions. The phrase ‘good Taliban’ had come from that fictional theory.
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| Rao and Vajpayee: Frinds who worked together on Pak front |
However around 2009, the Indian foreign policy engine room and strategic experts rightly focused on building up strong Indo-US ties. This has helped to build up India’s security bulwarks and much to the credit of the Modi doctrine, today Americans trust India more and also appreciate the double standards of Pakistan.
In fact, Obama was initially creating a ground for mid-term exit from Afghanistan but virtually gave it up at the later stage.
It was not only Saudis who bolstered the rise of radical Islamist forces, Islamabad undertook a new wave of operations by Afghans, other Sunni jihadists and its own men to promote its ‘goal’ across Central Asia.
The consequences of these are being felt now.
Britain-based Hizb-ut-Tahirr, a body of white-robed Salafi radicals, also played their part and the impact of these
projects were visible in the civil war of Tajikistan (fag end of the 1990s).
Now coming to 2021; the US and other global experts would do well to appreciate that a lack of ‘comprehension’ of the actual nature of Pakistani intent has led to ineffective and flawed responses.
Do not forget, President Bush had hailed Pakistan as a front-line ally in the global war against terrorism.
The weapons and money supplied to Pervez Musharraf regime were used against terrorists and also
against Afghanistani forces as much they were used in Kashmir.
Therefore, the incentives never could prevent the neo-Taliban from staging a comeback from sanctuaries in Pakistan.
One major weakness of US-led western forces has been a ‘fear’ created by certain misgivings.
The apprehension that mounting excessive pressure on Islamabad could lead to ‘collapse’ of Pakistan and its
nuclear arsenal could fall into the hands of Jihadists.
This has been made extensive use by Pakistani generals and has really prevented the ultimate success of the war against terrorism.
New Delhi: President-elect of the 76th General Assembly of the United Nations and Foreign Minister of Maldives, Abdulla Shahid, would be arriving India on a three-day visit from Thursday, July 22.
He is coming to India at the invitation of External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar.
During the visit, Shahid will pay a courtesy call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will be holding talks with the External Affairs Minister on key international, multilateral, regional and bilateral issues of mutual interest.
Dr Jaishankar will also be hosting an official dinner in honour of the visiting dignitary.
The visiting President-elect of the UN General Assembly will also share his vision for UNGA Presidency through a virtual public address titled "Presidency of Hope: COVID Pandemic and Need for Reformed Multilateralism” on July 23 July at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) premises in New Delhi, an MEA release said.
"The visit of PGA-Elect will provide an opportunity to exchange views with him on several global challenges that the United Nations is currently seized with," the release said.
It will also give the Indian government an opportunity to reiterate India’s abiding commitment to multilateralism and to the UN’s leadership in confronting these challenges, it said.
India would be the first country that Abdulla Shahid would be visiting in his official capacity as PGA-Elect since his election on June 7.
Mr Shahid had last visited India in April 2021 in his capacity as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Maldives.
"Maldives occupies a central place as part of India’s Neighbourhood First policy and the SAGAR vision
of the Prime Minister and the two Ministers are also expected to review the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation
between the two sides," the release said.
The discussions are expected to give further momentum to the rapidly expanding ties between the
two countries.
An Agreement for High Impact Community Development Projects to be implemented with Indian grant assistance in the Maldives will also be signed during the visit, the release said.
At the end of his three-day visit, Shahid would leave New Delhi on Saturday, July 24.
India had played a critical role in the election of Maldives foreign minister Shahid to the top UN job.
Maldives had announced FM Shahid’s candidature in December 2018 and India announced its support for Mr Shahid during the visit of Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla to Maldives in November 2020.
In mid-January 2021, in a surprising development and with less than 6 months before the elections, Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul entered the fray.
Maldives has never held the office of PGA, while Afghanistan has held this post during the 21st session in 1966-67.
"Both Maldives and Afghanistan have excellent relations with India, and both candidates are friends of India. However, since India had already committed its support to Maldives at a time when no other candidate was in the fray, India voted in favour of Maldives," sources said.
The office of the President of the UN General Assembly is the highest office in the UN System, and reflects the
collective goodwill of the 193 Member States of the UN.
ends
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