Latest news with #Taliban2.0
Express Tribune
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Change of heart in Kabul
It is a good omen that Afghan Taliban are listening to the international community, and have realised the existential threat that they too face from non-state actors holed inside Afghanistan. The visible change of heart, wherein Kabul is now reportedly acting against the TTP and the likes, augurs well not only for the strife-torn country itself, but for the region at large. The prime beneficiary of this new policy will be Pakistan as it is a direct victim of the cross-border incursions launched from the Southwest Asian state, causing a spike in death and destruction in the restive provinces of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. To reach this point of consensus, wherein Kabul has come out of the denial mode and is making strides against the disgruntled elements, much rubbing of shoulders had taken place. Islamabad strived restlessly to make the Taliban 2.0 leadership realise that harbouring criminals, and all those who are wielding guns, in return for their support in the yesteryears would be tantamount to a catastrophe. The law and order deterioration inside Afghanistan too was a case in point wherein these 'guests' were going over the board to serve their vested interests, pushing the fragile government in Kabul in a crisis of its own. Last but not least, the visit of Pakistan's special envoy to Kabul, followed by the deputy prime minister's high-level talks with Afghan authorities, has borne fruit and the non-state actors are now reportedly feeling the heat. The recent tripartite dialogue involving Islamabad, Beijing and Kabul was epoch-making in not only helping the Taliban earn the international legitimacy they have been looking for, but also look at the broader picture of connectivity and congeniality. Now is the time for the Afghan Taliban to walk the talk, and come full circle in exterminating the terror nexus. Militants from foreign countries must be shown the door, and the outlawed TTP leadership brought to book for their crimes against humanity on both sides of the divide. This jiff of fresh air from Kabul necessitates graduation in all forms and manifestations.
Indian Express
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Express View: Talking to Taliban
When the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021, India responded with caution. A few days into the takeover, New Delhi withdrew its ambassador and diplomatic staff from Kabul and suspended direct engagement. Realising that a stringent no-talk policy was impractical, India started to gradually open channels of communication. The reopening of the Indian embassy in June 2024 was followed by a public meeting in January this year between Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Afghanistan's acting Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, in Dubai. Amidst these developments, since August 2021, India has been regularly delivering wheat, pesticides, medical supplies and other forms of aid. Even in the Union Budget for 2024-25, there was an allocation of Rs 100 crore for assistance to Afghanistan. The first-ever ministerial-level conversation between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Muttaqi on Thursday should be seen as the next logical step in the incremental outreach by both countries. The phone call took place days after the India-Pakistan ceasefire following the Pahalgam terror attack, which was unequivocally condemned by the Taliban regime. Traditionally, Delhi and Kabul have had warm ties, barring the years of Taliban 1.0 (1996-2001), when India saw it as a proxy for Pakistan's strategic interests. But relations between the Taliban and Pakistan have been deteriorating rapidly, primarily driven by issues over the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, operating along the Afghan-Pakistan border. Realising that it does not have a hold on the Taliban any more, Rawalpindi has been trying to drive a wedge between India and Afghanistan. In a post on X, Jaishankar welcomed Muttaqi's 'firm rejection' of Pakistan's 'recent attempts to create distrust between India and Afghanistan through false and baseless reports' — a reference to reports in Pakistan that Indian missiles had hit Afghanistan during Operation Sindoor. Amid a widening rift between Taliban 2.0 and Pakistan, India needs to keep communication lines open and prevent Afghanistan from becoming a sanctuary for anti-India terror groups. There is no denying that the Taliban continues to be an autocratic regime with little regard for human rights, especially the rights of women. That is why India is yet to recognise the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Indeed, increased engagement risks undermining India's moral stand. But to not engage at all carries risks, too. China has signed significant investment and security agreements with the Taliban, including a $540-million oil extraction deal. Within the power politics of South Asia, given the China-Pakistan-Bangladesh axis, a Kabul-Beijing entente would be a matter of concern. India does not have the power to alter Afghan politics and society, but it has to deal with whoever sits in Kabul.
Express Tribune
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
The way to go
That the graph of terrorist incidents in Pakistan has spiked - and quite sharply at that - in the wake of the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 is uncontestable. The numbers speak pretty loudly and clearly. Islamabad's incessant calls for Kabul to take action against the TTP anarchists that are behind the violent activities in Pakistan have fallen on deaf ears, causing the ties between the two sides to deteriorate - to the extent of hot pursuit warnings from none other than Pakistan's defence minister. However, just recently signs of some ice-breaking have emerged, with Kabul and Islamabad agreeing on a number of steps to ease simmering tensions between them. The breakthrough has come with the culmination of a three-day visit to Kabul by Pakistan's special representative for Afghanistan Muhammad Sadiq, this past Sunday. The reports that the two sides have agreed to establish a mechanism for regular interaction, and to keep trade and economic cooperation insulted from any political tensions are indeed welcome. The points agreed upon by the two neighbours need to be taken to the implementation stage. Negotiated settlement of issues between Islamabad and Kabul is indeed the way to go, especially now that the Trump administration too seems to have decided to engage with the Taliban 2.0 - something that is evident from the release of an American citizen just last week, followed by the release of two others in January. Needless to mention that it's not just Pakistan that is bearing the brunt of the nefarious pursuits of terrorist elements operating from Afghan soil. Apart from TTP, other terrorist outfits like Al-Qaeda, ETIM and IMU are also holed up in Afghanistan and exporting terror in the neighbourhood. Thus, countering terrorism through concerted efforts is in the interest of the whole region. To top it all, a peaceful Afghanistan is in the interest of the war-weary Afghan nation itself. How long will it take for the Taliban to realise the very fact?
Express Tribune
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Torkham trouble
An estranged attitude from the Afghan Taliban is obstructing conventional congeniality on both sides of the western frontier. This unfriendly behaviour from the dispensation in Kabul is quite perplexing given that it comes despite the selfless cooperation from Islamabad. It is agreed that there are multiple problems between the two countries like cross-border incursions, terror remnants, including the repulsive TTP, as well as geopolitical intrigues. But that should not act as a spanner in the works in terms of buoying neighbourly cooperation. Afghanistan must also take cognisance of the fact that Pakistan has been on the receiving end as terror has risen its ugly head, and Taliban 2.0 have not been able to keep their word of ensuring sanctity by checking rogue elements on their soil. The recent fissures in terms of the closure of Torkham border is a case in point. It is a given that Pakistan had initiated the idea of fencing the porous 2,600km long border with Afghanistan to check the free flow of undesired elements across the frontiers. Thus, the unilateral construction of a check-post inside Afghanistan's Torkham zone by Kabul is a deviation from agreed norms of informing each other, and speaks of the mistrust or contempt that the Taliban leadership nurses for Pakistan. The discord led to suspension of activity across the border for the second consecutive day on Monday, from where an average of 600 trucks and thousands of pedestrians cross over into either side every day. While this region has witnessed clashes last year, leading to loss of lives of security personnel and civilians, it comes as a grave risk altogether to see it going over this brink once again. Both the countries are in need of entering a composite dialogue to iron out differences, as most of them are borne out of misunderstanding through the media. Moreover, Kabul has a piece of responsibility to shoulder and that is to ensure that non-state actors do not hold sway over diplomacy, and their meddling is checked earnestly.
Express Tribune
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Cosmetic steps
Listen to article To Pakistan, it's too little - and rightly so. Well, the context here is the shifting of some family members of TTP fighters from the areas bordering Pakistan, by the interim Afghan government. This relocation is meant to placate Islamabad's growing anger over the ghastly TTP activities inside Pakistan. However, it's pretty clear that rather than hitting the nail on the head, the interim Afghan government is just beating around the bush. The Taliban 2.0 - obligated to take action against the terror outfits operating from the Afghan soil in line with international guarantees - are only taking cosmetic steps that are well understood to cause no stir. By the way similar relocations have been done in the past also, with little or no impact - more so because those that were moved, then and now, did not include TTP fighter, but their families only. Persistently entrenched in denial, Kabul is not ready to admit that Afghanistan continues to act as the epicentre of terrorism in the region, harbouring terrorists of nearly all hues and shades that are out to bleed Pakistan and other countries in the neighbourhood in the pursuit of their shady agendas. It's about time the Taliban realised that they are equally threatened by these terrorist outfits holed up inside Afghanistan. They must now gear up to confront these terrorist groups head-on rather than continuing to appease them. After all, at stake is peace - a long elusive dream of the Afghan nation. Moreover, failing to take a meaningful action against the dreaded element also threatens to squander their efforts for global legitimacy. More than the region, a peaceful Afghanistan is in the interest of the war-ravaged Afghan nation itself. The earlier Kabul realises this the better.
