India Still Hesitant

WHEN Kabul fell to the Taliban, it made front page news for reasons other than just the Najibullah photograph. Most Afghan-watchers were genuinely surprised at the turn of events: for, the Rabbani-Masood-Hekmatyar combine had seemed fairly well entrenched.

It was a situation India, Iran, Russia, the Central Asian republics, indeed most countries, hadn’t expected. The victory of the Taliban, generally projected as radical Islamists, had no readymade answers.

There are many theories on how Ahmed Shah Masood gave up so easily. One of these is that he lost confidence in some of his senior commanders. It is also believed that some Pashtun fighters of Hek-matyar decided enough was enough and went and joined their Taliban brethren, who too are Pashtuns.

Today, though the power equation in Afghanistan has changed radically, the Taliban, Masood and Uzbek militia leader Abdul Rashid Dostum continue to be main players. Whether a military offensive will establish the Taliban as the supreme force, only time will tell. Otherwise, all the factions will have to forge a political understanding.바카라 웹사이트

So, how is India to react? It라이브 바카라 watching the situation—for there are many impon-derables yet—but for the moment its options are minimal. It views the Taliban as a destabilising force and its streak of Islam worries India, as it worries other countries in the region. It sees the latest takeover as another act in the Afghan "Great Game", a reference to the 19th century rivalry between the Russians and the British. India sees it as a short term gain for Pakistan, which was quick to recognise the new Kabul regime. New Delhi has always alleged that the Taliban have been backed by Islamabad. The US, too, does not appear too unhappy with the Taliban success.바카라 웹사이트

For their part, the Taliban can’t stand India. There are many reasons for this antipathy. First, India라이브 바카라 close links with the Soviet Union, when its forces were fighting in Afghanistan, propping up the communist regime. Next, the Taliban라이브 바카라 ties with Pakistan and the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-i-Islam, a religious party there, has influenced their thinking on India. Third, India라이브 바카라 ties with the Rabbani regime and the Taliban allegations that India was providing arms to it and, fourth, Kashmir.

It라이브 바카라 feared that Kashmir may now see an influx of hardened Afghan fighters. But the Indian Government is prepared for this: officials have been warning of an influx from the Pakistani side to destabilise the situation, now that successful elections have been held in Kashmir.

With such forebodings, India is still trying to evolve a coherent response to the situation. If the Taliban consolidate their hold on Kabul, which looks quite likely, India will have to learn to deal with them. But whether the Taliban want to deal with India is difficult to say at this juncture.