Daily Times

Diplomacy was in full swing around the recently held session of the Doha-III meet on Afghanistan-related issues. Interim Afghan government (IAG) boycotted the second round of the Doha interaction earlier in February this year. Therefore, the participation of the Afghan Taliban was a sign of relief for the UN officials. Western quarters have numerous reservations about the Taliban’s vision of human rights and social liberties for women.

IAG adopted a non-flexible stance on the agenda points clashing with their self-perceived social vision. The weaker legitimacy of IAG being an unelected regime is always a handicap for the Taliban in all such sensitive negotiations. However, a strong feeler prevails that IAG successfully managed to keep the human rights-related issues off the table. The Taliban have their own set of troubles revolving around issues like banking, refugees, trade, diplomatic connectivity and recognition of the interim ruling setup. The most sensitive issue related to the presence of terrorist outfits on the soil of Afghanistan could not find space on the agenda list of the Doha-III talks. The resumption of connectivity with the international community has been a point of satisfaction for the Taliban as evidenced by Zabhiullah Mujahid’s statement. However, the other side couldn’t gain much to jubilate except reopening the closed window. Pakistan has also moved ahead positively using the sidelines of the Doha-III conference. Taliban delegation led by Zabhiullah Mujahid attended the dinner at the residence of Pakistan’s envoy.

The mysterious inaction of the Taliban against the TTP makes perfect sense once viewed in the context of silence on the anti-Muslim manoeuvring of the Indian government

This may be taken as a sign of the right move to begin the specific engagement on the unresolved issue of cross-border terrorism emanating from Afghanistan. The presence of banned hardcore terrorist organizations like TTP, Al-Qaeda and ISKP is a matter of concern for the international community in general and a non-negotiable red line for Pakistan. The resurgence of terrorism in Pakistan especially the precise attacks on targets of a strategic nature is enough evidence to spot the patrons and read their intended objectives. It all started worsening after the arrival of the Taliban in Kabul at the helm of affairs.

Banned TTP should not be taken as an indigenous local outfit of a religiously misled bunch. Indian connection is an undeniable irritant in the complex regional security matrix. With an obvious anti-Muslim track record, the growing comfortability of the BJP government with IAG stirs many mind-boggling questions. The extreme Hindu right-wing outlook of the Modi-led BJP and its traditional anti-Muslim policy line makes her a perfect choice for the fanatic voters in India. But why do the Muslim right-winger Afghan Taliban have no problem while coopting with the Modi-led BJP regime? It was expected that the Afghan Taliban would move beyond pretending themselves as the flag bearers of Islam and raise objections to the anti-Muslim policies of India. Beside. s playing havoc with the Indian Muslims, the BJP government has emerged as one of the top supporters of the Israeli genocidal regime. India is deeply involved in multiple arms deals with Israel.

Defence cooperation is a major facet of indo-Israel bilateral relations. Back in 2014, Israel martyred more than 700 unarmed innocent Palestinians in Gaza by firing Hermes weapon system jointly produced with India. Fallen standards of the Indian government can be gauged from the recent supply of drones, missiles, surveillance systems and combat equipment to Israel. This equipment enabled Israel to continue with the inhuman genocide of Palestinians. This is worth noting that Israel has been assisting the Indian army in crushing the ongoing freedom movement in illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. It is commonly believed that the Modi regime subscribed to the idea of demographic change for IIOJK from Israel. Modi ascended in Indian politics by igniting the fire of anti-Muslim hatred. The past two terms of Modi in power corridors are known for mosque demolitions, mob lynching of Muslims, cow vigilantism, conversion of mosques in Hindu temples, forced religious conversions and discriminatory legislation. Taliban’s comfort with anti-Muslim India has put their religious optics in question. Indian patronage to ban TTP in Afghanistan with full impunity under the watch of IAG continues to multiply the intrigue.

TTP is repeatedly crossing the red lines of Pakistan in collaboration with RAW. The mysterious inaction of the Taliban against the banned TTP makes perfect sense once viewed in the context of strange silence on the anti-Muslim manoeuvring of the Indian government. India might be feeling satisfied by using Afghan soil to bleed Pakistan. It is about time for the Afghans to assess the long-term damages of exploitation orchestrated by none other than India. How a pro-Israel anti-Muslim Indian government can make huge investments for the betterment of Afghan Muslims? Afghans should keep an eye on the dagger hidden in the Modi’s cloak of friendship. The same dagger was used by the BJP to slaughter the Indian Muslims. Unelected IAG should not fail in the test of collective wisdom amid cyclic exploitation in the hands of the Indian government.

The writer is a graduate of QAU, PhD scholar and a freelance writer and can be reached at fa7263125@gmail.com