The deprived investor
THE Taliban’s blisteringly fast takeover of Afghanistan has stunned security and diplomacy experts worldwide.
Days after the fall of Kabul, nations are hurriedly evacuating their diplomats and citizens, leaving behind two decades of work and investments, said Vikas Pandey of BBC News Delhi in a recent article.
He further said, “Pakistan and China – both are expected to play a crucial role in Afghanistan’s future.”
As far as the matter of investment is concerned, India had been the fifth-largest aid donor and one of the most effective suppliers of technical support to the development projects running in Afghanistan.
Unwillingly, the United States had to keep India out of almost all political negotiations over Afghanistan in spite of India’s very effective role as an investor.
Experts are of the opinion that keeping India out of the dialogue-process was simply because of Pakistan’s strenuous objections on India.
India’s absence was also noticed during the recent Troika Plus talks this month, these talks were attended by China, Pakistan, Russia and the United States.
It seems that the US authorities knew well that India’s presence to the talks would do nothing but distort the peace-process that is why India was not given the ‘due’ importance in negotiation process.
Sumit Ganguly, a columnist at Foreign Policy has also pointed towards the same situation in his recent write up. He said, ‘The crisis following the U.S. withdrawal leaves India’s foreign-policy and security interests at considerable risk on two fronts.
First, a new Taliban government will likely foster safe havens for anti-Indian terrorist organizations and other groups that could sow chaos in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Meanwhile, China’s willingness to work with the Taliban could expand its footprint in the region.” In short things are not good for India in new Afghanistan as all its investment is expected to go waste. The India Today published an article of Koustav Das on 18th of August 2021.
The writer said, “The return of the Taliban could mark the beginning of another dark era for Afghanistan with uncertainty prevailing about the country’s economic progress and its ties with the rest of the world, particularly with those countries which have invested heavily in Afghanistan. India is one such country.
It has helped Afghanistan in all aspects of nation-building over the past two decades when the US-NATO forces provided a shield against the Taliban and other fundamentalist forces.
Given the situation, it remains unclear how India will maintain diplomatic ties with a government controlled by the militant group.
The Taliban rule could disrupt India’s friendly ties with Afghanistan and subsequently its strategic investments in the war-torn country.”
In short, India will have to struggle very hard to save her heavy-investments in Afghanistan; and that won’t be possible unless expected peace in Afghanistan is targeted.
Looking at the present Afghan scenario, one could very easily estimate that in the days to come there could only be two possibilities; either Afghanistan would turn into a very strong country or it would change into a more horrible wasteland.
If the Taliban succeed in keeping all stake-holders united and disarming all militant groups by dragging them into the main stream, the world would soon find Afghanistan standing at a very decisive position, having a very cordial relationship with the neighboring countries and dealing wisely with all national and international forces.
In that case, the importance rather need of India as an investor would be minimized to zero. So India would do all her best to patronize and strengthen the groups which are inwardly not in favour of the Taliban supremacy.
The first step in this regard is the recent propaganda done by the Indian sponsored media groups against Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai who had been a deputy foreign minister in the last Taliban regime. At present he is an expected key player in the new government in Afghanistan.
Stanikzai alias Sheru had been under training at 982 batch of the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun for the completion of pre-commission training for a year and a half before joining the Afghan National Army as a lieutenant. Those were the days just after Afghanistan was overrun by the Soviet Union.
Now the Indian media is trying to spread an impression that Sheru would prove himself a very strong caretaker of the Indian interests in Afghanistan. That is nothing but an attempt to create misunderstandings among different Afghan leaders.
Certainly Indian agents in Afghanistan would also be in contact with the handful of miscreants who are not happy with the present Taliban regime.
Their joint venture might bring some ‘disaster’ of a very minute and temporary level which would certainly not be challenging or threatening to the Taliban.
It is need of the time that the Taliban must introduce to the world a moderate picture of the New Age Taliban.
They must try to keep people united by assuring to them all basic human rights. Moreover they must not allow any country to interfere into Afghanistan’s internal matters.
The Taliban must be thankful to God that He blessed them with such a matchless victory over world’s so-called super-power; now their real success lies in giving this victory an eternal colour with the help of their wisdom, intelligence and patience.
It is also a point to be kept in mind that their victory would never be ‘digestible’ to the countries like India.
Such countries would do all their best to distort the dreamed of peaceful and prosperous face of Afghanistan.
—The writer is freelance columnist based in Multan.
