Emergence of a neo-Qatar and new geo-strategic games ::: Taliban likely to be 'reasonable' with India, says Foreign Secy Shringla

New Delhi:

Of course there is a growing interest in the affairs of the Af-Pak region and the extended neighbourhood. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is on a two-day visit to Pakistan after his trip to Qatar.

Till date in the region, Pakistan played hide and seek with its sinister double standards most often misleading the United States. Even Barack Obama admitted in his book, 'A Promised Land' that Pakistan has been "quietly assisting the Taliban as a means of keeping the Afghan government weak" and also that "the U.S. government had long tolerated such behavior from a purported ally—supporting it with billions of dollars in military and economic aid". 

On the other hand, Saudi Arabia and UAE were other players often used by global players including the US to handle issues in the Gulf and other Islamic world.

But now, Qatar has emerged a serious player. 

In the meantime on the first day in Islamabad, British Foreign Secretary Raab held meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi and later said categorically: "The approach we are taking is that we don't recognise the Taliban as a government ....but we do see the importance of being able to engage (with Taliban) and have a direct line of communication". 

Of course, Britain still has the agenda of "safe passage" of British nationals and the Afghans who worked for the UK government to discuss with the Taliban.

The importance of Qatar in geo-political sense has increased manifold in recent times.

Turkey will be another important player among the so called movers and shakers in the region post-Taliban 'win' in Afghanistan.

Needless to add, there are other players such as China, Iran and Russia.

From 1870 onward, the British-Turkish coordination made use of Kabul or Afghanistan against the Russian empire. Turkey is hoping for greater mileage as the Taliban trusts it perhaps more than anyone else.

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Turkey is also a trusted ally of Pakistan, from where in effect the Taliban got the training and all the logistic support.

One key assignment Turkey got lately was the work to ensure "security" of the Kabul airport. But Turkey has to handle mass migration from Afghanistan as number of those crossing over head for the Europe.

Apprehending more influx of refugees from Afghanistan, the Turkish government has already 

mooted a move construct a massive wall along the border with Iran.

But let us move over a bit and examine the Qatar-Turkey relationship. 

There is a modest diplomatic competitiveness between Qatar and Turkey.

As of now, Qatar has an advantage as a 'mediator' between Afghanistan and the West.

Not only Doha was suitably used by all stakeholders in discussions with Taliban, even post-US withdrawal and during the chaotic fortnight, it goes without stating hardly any country could ensure a major evacuation out of Kabul without enlisting help, support or advice from authorities in Qatar. 

Of course, the refrain is unlike Pakistan, Qatar is now a trusted mediator.

Qatar has certainly come a long way. In 2017, key Islamic nations UAE along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Doha even closing their airspace, borders and ports.

Some credit should definitely go to Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. 

In February 2020 itself, an AFP report in 'France24.com' had claimed -  "Providing neutral space for talks on ending Afghanistan's conflict has boosted Qatar's international profile and helped it defy a painful embargo enforced by neigbours and former allies".

Previously too, Qatar has played games in diplomacy between warring sides.

It readily served as a 'mediator' when Iran and the US appeared close to a war over the killing of an Iranian military General. 

 

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Taliban likely to be 'reasonable', Need to watch Pak with a fine tooth comb: Foreign Secy Shringla

New Delhi:

Both India and the United States have to be on guard and keep a close watch on Pakistan's actions vis-a-vis its support to terrorism and terror groups, Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla said and asserted that "we have to watch Pakistan’s actions with a fine tooth comb". 

Interacting with a group of Indian journalists at the end of his three-day official visit to Washington, Shringla also said “Our engagement with them (the Taliban) has been limited. It's not that we have (had) 

a robust conversation. But for whatever conversation we've had so far, they've been sort of..... the Taliban seem to indicate that they will be reasonable in the way they handle this". 

On Thursday, he had called on the Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“They (US) will obviously see how different players get engaged in the situation in Afghanistan. Pakistan is a neighbour of Afghanistan. They have supported and nurtured the Taliban. There are various elements there that Pakistan supported,” he said.

On the meeting between India’s Ambassador in Qatar, Deepak Mittal, and a Taliban leader in Doha, he said:

“In our statement, we have said that we have told them that we want them to be cognisant of the fact that 

there should be no terrorism that emanates from their territory directed against us, or other countries".

He said Taliban leadership has been told that - "we want them to be mindful of the status of women, minorities and so on and so forth. And, and I think they have, also, you know, made reassurance from their side". 

Among others, Shringla also met Under Secretary of Defence, Colin Kahl and discussed ways to advance India- United States strategic and defense partnerships.

They also exchanged views on regional issues - Afghanistan, Indo-Pacific and agreed to coordinate on shared priorities.

Sources said the Foreign Secretary also interacted with strategic experts from prominent US think tanks on regional and global issues and different facets of India-US strategic partnership.

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UCAN report:

Return of Taliban triggers new hate wave in India

Hindu hardliners begin trending #GoToAfghanistan while Muslim clerics call for an end to co-education 

The Indian government has been faced with a strange dilemma since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan.

On Aug. 31, within hours of US forces departing the war-torn nation, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced that its envoy to Qatar, Deepak Mittal, had met with the head of the Taliban’s political office, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai.

Soft spoken but a tough diplomat

This triggered a debate about India toeing a pragmatic line and heading toward establishing formal relations with the Taliban, though the MEA said the discussions focused on safety, security and the early return of Indian nationals stranded in Afghanistan. 

The Narendra Modi government has always viewed the Taliban as a terror organization and refused to adopt the softer line that required it to differentiate between "good Taliban" and "bad Taliban."

Some Hindu hardliners would have nothing of its new, softer approach and went on the offensive.

“You want to spin charkha to Taliban, please try it,” Major General G.D. Bakshi, a retired army officer, said as if throwing a challenge to the Indian government. 

The charkha, or spinning wheel, is regarded as the physical embodiment and symbol of Mahatma Gandhi's constructive resistance to British colonial power and Bakshi only meant to convey that the Taliban cannot be influenced by Gandhian philosophy.

Trying a right balance: Trio - PM, EAM, NSA

However, a dozen public figures including veteran politicians, retired bureaucrats, activists and journalists said the Modi government should have a deeper engagement with the Taliban.

“No country in the region should be excluded from nor isolate itself from collaborative efforts to bring peace in Afghanistan and promote national reconciliation,” they said in a written appeal.

The dilemma witnessed in the higher echelons of capital New Delhi was reflected on the ground, among the nation’s Muslims who constitute slightly less than 14 percent of India’s population of 1.3 billion and are often at the receiving end of Hindu extremists’ hate. 

Some were apparently ecstatic at the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and couldn’t hold back. 

A number of Muslim clerics openly endorsed the Taliban takeover and even sought an end to the concept of school co-education in their home country.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, an organization of Islamic scholars belonging to India’s Deobandi school of thought from whom the Taliban draw their ideology, called for separate schools for boys and girls and urged non-Muslims to stop sending their daughters to co-education schools or colleges.

This was necessary, the organization said, to “keep them away from immorality and bad behavior.”

Samajwadi Party lawmaker Shafiqur Rehman Burq sought to justify events in Afghanistan by saying: “When India was under British rule, our country fought for freedom. Now the Taliban wants to free their country and run it.”

The police in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, ruled by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), initiated penal action against the veteran socialist leader.

The BJP and other pro-Hindu outfits were quick to jump on the bandwagon, expressing apprehension about the “attempt to Talibanize” India.

Soon the hashtag #GoToAfghanistan began trending on Indian social media, with some Muslims countering it with their support for the Taliban.

India’s top actor Naseeruddin Shah posted a video on Twitter calling on India’s Muslims to introspect.

“Even as the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan is a cause for concern for the whole world, celebrations of the barbarians in some sections of the Indian Muslims is no less dangerous,” he warned.

“Every Indian Muslim should ask themselves if they want reform and modernity in Islam or the barbarian values of the past few centuries.”

The last fortnight has witnessed how the disturbing events and ensuing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan have impacted both Hindus and Muslims in multi-religious and multilingual India.

The worst thing is that this mob mentality is now invading the country’s premier institutions such as the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), which has decided to introduce a new optional course on fighting terrorism for its engineering students.

The title of the course, “Counter-Terrorism, Asymmetric Conflicts and Strategies for Cooperation Among Major Powers,” drew criticism from intellectuals and political leaders.

Marxist leader Brinda Karat said the BJP government is only trying to impose its Hindutva agenda on students but JNU vice-chancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar defended his decision by saying the course was intended to equip India with “adequate responses in the case of any eventuality.”

“The way things have unfolded in India’s neighborhood is proving highly detrimental to India's national security,” he said in a not-so-subtle reference to Afghanistan in a statement.

Pro-Hindu organizations including academic and student bodies welcomed the JNU decision.

“Counter-terrorism requires the use of advanced technology to gather information, collect intelligence inputs, analyze and use appropriate technical solutions in the best possible manner. An engineer entrusted with such a task is expected to have basic knowledge of the objectives of terror outfits,” wrote senior BJP leader Seshadri Chari in an article for the online news portal The Print.

The only takeaway from the deluge of recent unsavory events and statements seems to be that democratic India needs to learn from what’s happening in Afghanistan and keep its homegrown fundamentalism in check.