Conversations with the Taliban

Since the Taliban overran Kabul in August 2021, India has been exhibiting astute diplomacy in Afghanistan after its original strategy to ride on the US coattails failed. By all accounts, the agreement the US and the Taliban reached in 2020 seemed to be a symbol of surrender.

Then, after India had expended diplomatic capital on Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, he shamefully left the nation. When he said a month later that India would never accept “any outcome which is decided by force,” Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar had stoked expectations that the Taliban would use members of the previous administration to form the new government.

The focus of attention in Kabul last week was on an Indian team that spoke with the Taliban leadership on a number of issues that may lead to a close normalization of relations. New Delhi has also been carefully monitoring the resentment between Islamabad and Kabul, which has been stoked by conflicts along the Durand Line and the reality that Afghanistan cannot be economically aided by a bankrupt Pakistan. By year’s end, India seemed content with the Taliban’s resolve to keep Afghanistan from serving as a center for Islamist terrorism once again.

In exchange, the Afghan missions in India were handed over to the Taliban in secret. China’s reestablishment of diplomatic relations with Kabul also had a role in India’s decision to soften up toward the Taliban. But before the Taliban get international recognition, there is still a long way to go. The way in which they have accommodated Indian interests more should encourage New Delhi to support the post-Mullah Omar generation in its efforts to become more globally integrated. However, historical data indicates that India should exercise caution as it reestablishes itself on the Afghan chessboard.