What's new

Taliban dropped India from its thank you list. Delhi should face new Afghanistan realities

A very frustrated substrata of Pakistanis always seem to be living in the 'sun goes around the earth' days and in constant shiver of the shadows - Indian shadow, Iranian shadow, Bangladeshi shadow, Afghan shadow....If India really wanted to use Afghanistan as a fulcrum for anything against Pakistan they'd have established troop presence and a large footprint a long time ago. Either India knows they don't need such hegemony to defend against Pakistan and/or they arrived at the calculus that there are better ways.

Similarly if the US leaving Afghanistan came a surprise to anyone they should start reading newspapers. This was a poll pledge from Trump and he is a lot less nuanced than his predecessors. But a lot more effective guy.

So let the Afghans work their leadership out. Pakistan should join India, China, US and the rest of the world to provide economic and technological assistance to Afghanistan instead of playing non-existent advantage. That'd help Pakistan also to rise up to its proper standing instead of continuing to be slotted in the Af-Pak class.

Drop the pettiness
 
.
A very frustrated substrata of Pakistanis always seem to be living in the 'sun goes around the earth' days and in constant shiver of the shadows - Indian shadow, Iranian shadow, Bangladeshi shadow, Afghan shadow....If India really wanted to use Afghanistan as a fulcrum for anything against Pakistan they'd have established troop presence and a large footprint a long time ago. Either India knows they don't need such hegemony to defend against Pakistan and/or they arrived at the calculus that there are better ways.

Similarly if the US leaving Afghanistan came a surprise to anyone they should start reading newspapers. This was a poll pledge from Trump and he is a lot less nuanced than his predecessors. But a lot more effective guy.

So let the Afghans work their leadership out. Pakistan should join India, China, US and the rest of the world to provide economic and technological assistance to Afghanistan instead of playing non-existent advantage. That'd help Pakistan also to rise up to its proper standing instead of continuing to be slotted in the Af-Pak class.

Drop the pettiness
Please take this shit somewhere else.
 
.
Afghanistan has been the graveyard of empires for centuries and of two super powers in the last 40 years — the USSR, from 24 December 1979 to 15 February 1989; and the US, from 7 October 2001 to 29 February 2020.

Mullah-Baradar-696x392.jpg


India, despite being the second-biggest donor of foreign aid to Afghanistan and receiving adequate notice, merely watched the negotiations and signing of the US-Taliban peace deal from the sidelines and made no change in its approach towards the Taliban. No wonder, India was excluded from Taliban chief negotiator Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar’s “thank you” list, which included Pakistan (special mention), China, Iran and Russia.

The ‘defeat’ of the US in Afghanistan, on the other hand, is the finest hour of Pakistan’s statecraft. Never in history a nation has plotted and actively abetted the ‘defeat’ of a super power and yet continued to enjoy its goodwill.

India with its economic clout and soft power can still be a major player in Afghanistan. But for that to happen, India will have to come to terms with the new reality and engage with the Taliban. Realpolitik is not about absolutism, but involves adaptation to promote national interests.

Afghan-born US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Mullah Baradar signed The Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan on 29 February, 2020, at Sheraton Hotel in Doha. The negotiations followed a chequered course which was less to do with “hard bargaining” by the US and more due to the Taliban displaying its clout with terrorist attacks against US troops, Afghan Armed Forces and civilians.

Shorn of diplomatic finesse, the “peace agreement” is nothing more than a face-saving exit for the US from its longest war. Afghanistan has been left to its fate like Vietnam was 47 years ago.

Also read: Afghanistan is not Vietnam. US should know that walking away won’t be that easy

The agreement
The four-page agreement has been signed between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which is not recognised as a state by the US, and the United States of America. The Afghan government is not a party to the agreement. In fact, it is not even recognised by the Taliban. The future of Afghanistan will be decided by the intra-Afghan negotiations between the Taliban and “Afghan sides” beginning 10 March 2020. A separate Joint Declaration between the Afghan government and the US was issued in Kabul. This declaration contains the gist of the US-Taliban agreement and makes a commitment for a political settlement through intra-Afghan negotiations between the Taliban and an inclusive negotiating team of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (the government), and a permanent comprehensive ceasefire.

The Doha agreement broadly involves the withdrawal of US forces in a phased manner, removal of international sanctions on the Taliban, release of prisoners from both sides and Taliban’s commitment to reduce violence.

As part of the agreement, Taliban will not allow groups like Al-Qaeda to use Afghanistan to threaten the security of the US and its allies. But the agreement is silent on anti-India terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed.

Also read: US-Afghan peace deal relies on old flaws, dated assumptions. Taliban of 2020 has changed

Future of Afghanistan
The fact that within 48 hours of the peace agreement and the joint declaration, President Ashraf Ghani said that the release of prisoners was not a promise the US could make and the Taliban resumed its operations against Afghan forces after just seven days of the pre-agreement “reduction in violence” promise, gives an indication of the complexities that will determine this future. On 4 March, the US carried out an

Post US exit, the Pashtun-dominated Taliban backed by Pakistan will be the most potent force and its return to power is ordained. The future of Afghanistan will be decided by the avatar in which it emerges to rule Afghanistan.

In the aftermath of the deal, two extreme possibilities can emerge in Afghanistan. The worst-case scenario is the Taliban going back to its pre-9/11 ways. The best-case scenario is a Taliban-led multi-ethnic coalition government on the Iranian political model with its moderation managed by leverage of international aid without which Afghanistan cannot survive and Pakistan’s influence. This will also be contingent on the leverage the international community can exercise over Pakistan.

Also read: India took the high moral ground by not talking to Taliban and lost influence in Afghanistan

The way forward for India
Realpolitik demand that India should prepare for both the best and the worst-case scenarios. Plan A should be based on the best-case scenario. Post 9/11, India has exercised considerable strategic influence and enjoys phenomenal goodwill among the people of Afghanistan. New Delhi has pumped in about $3 billion in developmental projects. A large number of Afghan military officers have also been trained in India.

New Delhi must shed its inhibitions to support the agreement, engage with the Taliban, and become part of the peace process to get the best for the people of Afghanistan.

As its principal sponsor, Pakistan has considerable influence over the Taliban. But India has what Pakistan does not have — the economic clout to assist Afghanistan. Economic aid never fails to produce influence. Our aid must not only continue but increase with firm commitments over the next 10 years. For India, $1 billion a year is a small price to pay for establishing its influence in Afghanistan.

We must also actively participate in India-China-Afghanistan trilateral economic projects as agreed upon at Wuhan in 2018. For this, we must prevail upon China to influence Pakistan to open trade and transit routes to Afghanistan. To this end, we must recommence our engagement with Pakistan with focus on economic cooperation and transit routes. This will also allay Pakistan’s fears of our influence in Afghanistan.

I foresee the deployment of a peacekeeping force under the UN or the Shanghai Cooperation Council. We must not miss the opportunity to be an active participant in Afghanistan.

Also read: India has invested too much in Afghanistan to let Taliban hold sway again with US blessings

To prepare for the worst-case scenario, we must engage with the non-Taliban ethnic coalition as and when it is formed and assist it economically and militarily through Tajikistan.

Lt Gen H S Panag PVSM, AVSM (R) served in the Indian Army for 40 years. He was GOC in C Northern Command and Central Command. Post retirement, he was Member of Armed Forces Tribunal. Views are personal.

ThePrint is now on Telegram. For the best reports & opinion on politics, governance and more, subscribe to ThePrint on Telegram.

Indian media is burning all over. What they don't realize is what we have been saying all along, there is not much difference between Pakistanis and Afghans, we have the same racial and civilizational background.

Hate between the two would always be temporary at best.
 
. .
Unlike Pakistan which has always sought destruction and chaos in Afghanistan, India's been the one to make an attempt to build bridges, literally and metaphorically. Good deeds never goes to waste..

You worry about fixing your relationship with your cousins and blood-brothers in Bangladesh.

We will worry about our relationship with our cousins in Afghanistan.
 
.
A very frustrated substrata of Pakistanis always seem to be living in the 'sun goes around the earth' days and in constant shiver of the shadows - Indian shadow, Iranian shadow, Bangladeshi shadow, Afghan shadow....If India really wanted to use Afghanistan as a fulcrum for anything against Pakistan they'd have established troop presence and a large footprint a long time ago. Either India knows they don't need such hegemony to defend against Pakistan and/or they arrived at the calculus that there are better ways.

Similarly if the US leaving Afghanistan came a surprise to anyone they should start reading newspapers. This was a poll pledge from Trump and he is a lot less nuanced than his predecessors. But a lot more effective guy.

So let the Afghans work their leadership out. Pakistan should join India, China, US and the rest of the world to provide economic and technological assistance to Afghanistan instead of playing non-existent advantage. That'd help Pakistan also to rise up to its proper standing instead of continuing to be slotted in the Af-Pak class.

Drop the pettiness





More indianistic retardedness.........:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:..........if the American and Soviet superpowers struggled in Afghanistan do you HONESTLY believe that the impoverished, 3rd world soldiers of india would stand a chance in Afghanistan????????...........WTF!!!!!!!!..........
 
. .
A very frustrated substrata of Pakistanis always seem to be living in the 'sun goes around the earth' days and in constant shiver of the shadows - Indian shadow, Iranian shadow, Bangladeshi shadow, Afghan shadow....If India really wanted to use Afghanistan as a fulcrum for anything against Pakistan they'd have established troop presence and a large footprint a long time ago. Either India knows they don't need such hegemony to defend against Pakistan and/or they arrived at the calculus that there are better ways.

Similarly if the US leaving Afghanistan came a surprise to anyone they should start reading newspapers. This was a poll pledge from Trump and he is a lot less nuanced than his predecessors. But a lot more effective guy.

So let the Afghans work their leadership out. Pakistan should join India, China, US and the rest of the world to provide economic and technological assistance to Afghanistan instead of playing non-existent advantage. That'd help Pakistan also to rise up to its proper standing instead of continuing to be slotted in the Af-Pak class.

Drop the pettiness

No thank you. You die alone.

Please take this shit somewhere else.

He cant, they dont have enough toilets. Thats one reason Indians keep shitting on this forum.
 
.
so some of you actually believe the US struggled in Afghanistan? guys, the US came thousands of miles clear across, dropped all the bombs they cared to, build all the bases they cared to, and pretty much drove away the Taliban. And that bombing and corralling away wasn't limited to Afghanistan as you know. When they thought some of these people routinely took refuge in Pakistan, there was no hesitation and the bombs at will followed. Unfortunately due to such pig hotheadedness, many many innocents in Pakistan also suffered. Does any of that sound like the US 'struggling'?

Now the US has lost interest and are leaving. It was neither a secret nor a sudden thing.
 
.
Unlike Pakistan which has always sought destruction and chaos in Afghanistan, India's been the one to make an attempt to build bridges, literally and metaphorically. Good deeds never goes to waste..


non sense.

so some of you actually believe the US struggled in Afghanistan? guys, the US came thousands of miles clear across, dropped all the bombs they cared to, build all the bases they cared to, and pretty much drove away the Taliban. And that bombing and corralling away wasn't limited to Afghanistan as you know. When they thought some of these people routinely took refuge in Pakistan, there was no hesitation and the bombs at will followed. Unfortunately due to such pig hotheadedness, many many innocents in Pakistan also suffered. Does any of that sound like the US 'struggling'?

Now the US has lost interest and are leaving. It was neither a secret nor a sudden thing.


only an idiot thinks US won some thing...
 
. .
Unlike Pakistan which has always sought destruction and chaos in Afghanistan, India's been the one to make an attempt to build bridges, literally and metaphorically. Good deeds never goes to waste..
Try to help Indians in india first. Sanitation. Toilets food medicine and general poverty alleviation springs to mind. Instead of talking big try to face facts please
 
. .
Are people still living in the 1990s? Just because the Taliban returns to power doesn't mean India will have zero influence in Afghanistan. Its influence may have diminished but not eliminated. Afghanistan is still an unruly country controlled by warlords.

The ‘defeat’ of the US in Afghanistan, on the other hand, is the finest hour of Pakistan’s statecraft. Never in history a nation has plotted and actively abetted the ‘defeat’ of a super power and yet continued to enjoy its goodwill.

And what did Pakistan win? Afghanistan? It's one hell of a prize, I must say. :rofl:
 
.
That's because at least 80% of Afghans are racially, genetically, culturally and historically identical to Pakistanis. We also share a border with Afghanistan. Pakistanis and nearly all Afghans are essentially the SAME people. Because of this, there will eventually be a coming together of Afghan and Pakistani people. No one can stop this. india does NOT have a border with Afghanistan and indians have NOTHING in common with afghans either. As a result, india can NEVER be a main player in Afghanistan.
As far as I can tell, all Pakistanis aren't essentially the same people.

A very frustrated substrata of Pakistanis always seem to be living in the 'sun goes around the earth' days and in constant shiver of the shadows - Indian shadow, Iranian shadow, Bangladeshi shadow, Afghan shadow....If India really wanted to use Afghanistan as a fulcrum for anything against Pakistan they'd have established troop presence and a large footprint a long time ago. Either India knows they don't need such hegemony to defend against Pakistan and/or they arrived at the calculus that there are better ways.

Similarly if the US leaving Afghanistan came a surprise to anyone they should start reading newspapers. This was a poll pledge from Trump and he is a lot less nuanced than his predecessors. But a lot more effective guy.

So let the Afghans work their leadership out. Pakistan should join India, China, US and the rest of the world to provide economic and technological assistance to Afghanistan instead of playing non-existent advantage. That'd help Pakistan also to rise up to its proper standing instead of continuing to be slotted in the Af-Pak class.

Drop the pettiness
Sour grapes.
 
.

Latest posts

Pakistan Defence Latest Posts

Pakistan Affairs Latest Posts

Back
Top Bottom