India is in the crosshairs of Afghan affairs

Gunmen and suicide bombers stormed a Sikh gurdwara in the heart of Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan. The attack on the gurdwara took the lives of at least 25 people; eight people were injured in one of the deadliest attacks on the minority community in the strife-torn country. There were around 150 worshippers inside the gurdwara in Shor Bazar at the time of the attack.

The terrorist group ISIS has claimed responsibility for the bomb attack, murdering of people, and damaging the dharamshala, worship place of the Sikh community. This is the second terrorist attack that has been successfully carried out by ISIS in March 2020. Earlier in March, a terrorist attack targeted a Shia Muslim gathering in Kabul, in which 32 people lost their lives.

ISIS claiming the latest attack is a stark reminder that not all roads will lead to peace and stability, and that there are parties other than Taliban and the US that can challenge the peace process in Afghanistan. Taliban has distanced itself from the lethal attack on the place of worship of a religious minority. The United States and Taliban signed a deal after 18 months of talks, but many irritating factors could still disrupt the peace process. The bigger challenge is to negotiate an agreement between the Taliban and the Afghan government on the future of Afghanistan. The current Afghan government in Kabul is mired in a leadership stalemate with two politicians, Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah. The facets of their political hopes and ambitions are poles apart.

All this has happened after the US declared cutting of its aid to the Afghan government by one billion dollars over the frustration that political leaders could not reconcile and form a team to negotiate with the Taliban. The US-Taliban treaty has paved the way for a durable solution; it is a major step after years of conflict. It pushes back all inimical forces that have no role in the power-sharing deal.

The United States is committed to drawdown its 12,800 troops from Afghanistan in a bid to break the deadlock. It signed a historic peace deal in February 2020 that addressed the main issues, including a temporary reduction in violence and a lasting ceasefire between the US and Taliban. Afghan forces will be part of the intra-Afghan negotiations.

The regional players are cautiously weighing their strategic interests in Afghanistan. India knows that it has no role in the emerging political dispensation of Afghanistan. The intricate situation has placed the Indians in a very awkward position. Infighting among the various factions of the Afghan government will linger in the status quo and continue to serve Indian interests in the region. The US is aware that if the wrangling in the Afghan government persists, the peace deal will be in jeopardy, and the time is not far away when the Taliban will take over the entire Afghanistan.

The international community is fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, and the BJP-led government is grimly engaged in perpetuating and solidifying the Hindutva agenda on Muslims of this region

The Afghan government has been working with India against Pakistan, and a proxy war has been waging from the Afghan soil. India has been heavily involved in meddling with the regime of Ashraf Ghani; it is not a secret. After the US-Taliban peace deal, India has the strong realisation that it has no role in Kabul and that its influence in Afghanistan will be ultimately reduced. India knows that it has been marginalised. The episode has triggered the possibility of creating new ways and means in the scheme of things.

India is actively pursuing two-pronged strategic objectives. ISIS fighters who recently surrendered to Taliban have admitted in their debriefings the involvement of their group in the acts of terrorism. The group has nothing to do with the operatives in Syria and Iraq. Indian RAW and Afghan NDS have brought ISIS in Afghanistan with the hope that it will mislead the world and help them gain their geopolitical ulterior motives.

One of the four-member team that rampaged the gurdwara in Kabul is an Indian who is recognised as Abu Khalid al-Hindi. He is a terrorist involved in the attack that massacred 25 people. This report is cited by SITE Intelligence Group that tracks militant activities. His real name was Mohammed Muhsin, aged 28, and was a resident of Kasaragod in the Kerala state. He allegedly attacked to show solidarity with Kashmiris and to highlight the plight of Muslims living under severe restrictions in the Indian-held Kashmir. Muhsin left for the UAE in 2018 from where he travelled to join the ranks of ISIS. His distinct identity was established after an ISIS publication posted his picture identifying him with his ‘kunyat’ (Arabic name), Abu Khalid al-Hindi.

Muhsin, along with his family, had returned to Kerala from Malaysia in 2017 and later left for Saudi Arabia in search of work outside India. His parents claimed that they received a message from ISIS confirming his demise during the attack. Muhsin, a school dropout, came to Afghanistan as a member of ISIS in the Khorasan province.

India has been building and selling narratives of Pakistan being a terrorist state; it is engaged in promotion and export of terror to other countries. India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and placed it in a security lockdown. A communication blackout was imposed to cripple the lives of Kashmiris. Thousands of young people were detained. The lockdown is in operation since 5 August 2019; it has virtually put the lives of innocent people in a miserable condition.

Pakistan highlighted the Kashmir issue at every global forum but got a lukewarm response from the international community. Human rights violations in Kashmir failed to attract global attention because of India’s huge market. India is reframing the Kashmir conflict as a fight against terrorism, fostering stigmatisation of all Muslims, and promoting Islam as a source of universal terror.

With the emergence of a new reality of the US-Afghan peace deal, India is trying hard to brand the Afghan Taliban as terrorist, claiming that they are part of international terrorist networks. Terrorist activities that have occurred after the peace deal are against regional interests; even the minorities have not been spared. The underlying notion has to be understood where the interests of India and Israel converge. Both justify their actions almost repeatedly and underscore their views in the same way.

It has been foreseen for quite a while that ending the war in Afghanistan is not in India’s interest. India shall be the first target of Taliban as the US withdraws its forces from Afghanistan, paving the way for the Taliban regime in Kabul.

The signing of the US deal with the Taliban to end 18 years of war is not acceptable to some forces. They believe that the US departure from Afghanistan will have multifaced effects on the region. According to March 3, 2020 editorial of the Jerusalem Post, “The repercussions of the US-Taliban deal,” the agreement would have a far-reaching impact on the Middle East. The argument holds that the Taliban in unison with the al-Qaeda was the main force that became the face of the global war on terrorism.

The current situation is the US shifting away from that war to confront China and Russia. American President Trump is no more prepared to continue the war; he wants the massive cost of the war to conclusively end. Due to President Trump’s policies, the US is withdrawing American forces from different parts of the world. “The hostile forces in the world will get the message that if you push the US, it might disengage, an image that would pose a problem for Israel, which benefits when the US is engaged and strong.”

The entire episode of the Sikh gurdwara attack has reinforced the suspicions of India’s involvement in bolstering local ISIS, using the Afghan soil to threaten the United States or parties in the deal, to convey an unequivocal message of its political motivations in the region. We can see the gurdwara attack as a manoeuvre and a wilful attempt to divert attention from the latest Indian action aimed at illegally changing the demographic structure of the Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir: the significant move to enact “Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Order 2020.” By implementing the law, India will settle non-Kashmiris in the disputed territory by changing the domicile laws.

The evolving circumstances have put Ashraf Ghani in a tight position in his efforts to engage in an intra-Afghan dialogue, which will ultimately replace his control in Afghanistan. It appears that India has symbolically played duck. However, the Kabul regime is under tremendous pressure to do something; it could not undo anti-India feelings across Afghanistan, both at the masses and elite levels.

India’s actions at the time when the world is beset with a global health crisis are actively masking a deeper problem. The international community is fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, and the BJP-led government is grimly engaged in perpetuating and solidifying the Hindutva agenda on Muslims of this region.

The international community is fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, and the BJP-led government is grimly engaged in perpetuating and solidifying the Hindutva agenda on Muslims of this region

Gunmen and suicide bombers stormed a Sikh gurdwara in the heart of Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan. The attack on the gurdwara took the lives of at least 25 people; eight people were injured in one of the deadliest attacks on the minority community in the strife-torn country. There were around 150 worshippers inside the gurdwara in Shor Bazar at the time of the attack.

The terrorist group ISIS has claimed responsibility for the bomb attack, murdering of people, and damaging the dharamshala, worship place of the Sikh community. This is the second terrorist attack that has been successfully carried out by ISIS in March 2020. Earlier in March, a terrorist attack targeted a Shia Muslim gathering in Kabul, in which 32 people lost their lives.

ISIS claiming the latest attack is a stark reminder that not all roads will lead to peace and stability, and that there are parties other than Taliban and the US that can challenge the peace process in Afghanistan. Taliban has distanced itself from the lethal attack on the place of worship of a religious minority. The United States and Taliban signed a deal after 18 months of talks, but many irritating factors could still disrupt the peace process. The bigger challenge is to negotiate an agreement between the Taliban and the Afghan government on the future of Afghanistan. The current Afghan government in Kabul is mired in a leadership stalemate with two politicians, Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah. The facets of their political hopes and ambitions are poles apart.

All this has happened after the US declared cutting of its aid to the Afghan government by one billion dollars over the frustration that political leaders could not reconcile and form a team to negotiate with the Taliban. The US-Taliban treaty has paved the way for a durable solution; it is a major step after years of conflict. It pushes back all inimical forces that have no role in the power-sharing deal.

The United States is committed to drawdown its 12,800 troops from Afghanistan in a bid to break the deadlock. It signed a historic peace deal in February 2020 that addressed the main issues, including a temporary reduction in violence and a lasting ceasefire between the US and Taliban. Afghan forces will be part of the intra-Afghan negotiations.

The regional players are cautiously weighing their strategic interests in Afghanistan. India knows that it has no role in the emerging political dispensation of Afghanistan. The intricate situation has placed the Indians in a very awkward position. Infighting among the various factions of the Afghan government will linger in the status quo and continue to serve Indian interests in the region. The US is aware that if the wrangling in the Afghan government persists, the peace deal will be in jeopardy, and the time is not far away when the Taliban will take over the entire Afghanistan.

The Afghan government has been working with India against Pakistan, and a proxy war has been waging from the Afghan soil. India has been heavily involved in meddling with the regime of Ashraf Ghani; it is not a secret. After the US-Taliban peace deal, India has the strong realisation that it has no role in Kabul and that its influence in Afghanistan will be ultimately reduced. India knows that it has been marginalised. The episode has triggered the possibility of creating new ways and means in the scheme of things.

India is actively pursuing two-pronged strategic objectives. ISIS fighters who recently surrendered to Taliban have admitted in their debriefings the involvement of their group in the acts of terrorism. The group has nothing to do with the operatives in Syria and Iraq. Indian RAW and Afghan NDS have brought ISIS in Afghanistan with the hope that it will mislead the world and help them gain their geopolitical ulterior motives.

One of the four-member team that rampaged the gurdwara in Kabul is an Indian who is recognised as Abu Khalid al-Hindi. He is a terrorist involved in the attack that massacred 25 people. This report is cited by SITE Intelligence Group that tracks militant activities. His real name was Mohammed Muhsin, aged 28, and was a resident of Kasaragod in the Kerala state. He allegedly attacked to show solidarity with Kashmiris and to highlight the plight of Muslims living under severe restrictions in the Indian-held Kashmir. Muhsin left for the UAE in 2018 from where he travelled to join the ranks of ISIS. His distinct identity was established after an ISIS publication posted his picture identifying him with his ‘kunyat’ (Arabic name), Abu Khalid al-Hindi.

Muhsin, along with his family, had returned to Kerala from Malaysia in 2017 and later left for Saudi Arabia in search of work outside India. His parents claimed that they received a message from ISIS confirming his demise during the attack. Muhsin, a school dropout, came to Afghanistan as a member of ISIS in the Khorasan province.

India has been building and selling narratives of Pakistan being a terrorist state; it is engaged in promotion and export of terror to other countries. India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and placed it in a security lockdown. A communication blackout was imposed to cripple the lives of Kashmiris. Thousands of young people were detained. The lockdown is in operation since 5 August 2019; it has virtually put the lives of innocent people in a miserable condition.

Pakistan highlighted the Kashmir issue at every global forum but got a lukewarm response from the international community. Human rights violations in Kashmir failed to attract global attention because of India’s huge market. India is reframing the Kashmir conflict as a fight against terrorism, fostering stigmatisation of all Muslims, and promoting Islam as a source of universal terror.

With the emergence of a new reality of the US-Afghan peace deal, India is trying hard to brand the Afghan Taliban as terrorist, claiming that they are part of international terrorist networks. Terrorist activities that have occurred after the peace deal are against regional interests; even the minorities have not been spared. The underlying notion has to be understood where the interests of India and Israel converge. Both justify their actions almost repeatedly and underscore their views in the same way.

It has been foreseen for quite a while that ending the war in Afghanistan is not in India’s interest. India shall be the first target of Taliban as the US withdraws its forces from Afghanistan, paving the way for the Taliban regime in Kabul.

The signing of the US deal with the Taliban to end 18 years of war is not acceptable to some forces. They believe that the US departure from Afghanistan will have multifaced effects on the region. According to March 3, 2020 editorial of the Jerusalem Post, “The repercussions of the US-Taliban deal,” the agreement would have a far-reaching impact on the Middle East. The argument holds that the Taliban in unison with the al-Qaeda was the main force that became the face of the global war on terrorism.

The current situation is the US shifting away from that war to confront China and Russia. American President Trump is no more prepared to continue the war; he wants the massive cost of the war to conclusively end. Due to President Trump’s policies, the US is withdrawing American forces from different parts of the world. “The hostile forces in the world will get the message that if you push the US, it might disengage, an image that would pose a problem for Israel, which benefits when the US is engaged and strong.”

The entire episode of the Sikh gurdwara attack has reinforced the suspicions of India’s involvement in bolstering local ISIS, using the Afghan soil to threaten the United States or parties in the deal, to convey an unequivocal message of its political motivations in the region. We can see the gurdwara attack as a manoeuvre and a wilful attempt to divert attention from the latest Indian action aimed at illegally changing the demographic structure of the Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir: the significant move to enact “Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Order 2020.” By implementing the law, India will settle non-Kashmiris in the disputed territory by changing the domicile laws.

The evolving circumstances have put Ashraf Ghani in a tight position in his efforts to engage in an intra-Afghan dialogue, which will ultimately replace his control in Afghanistan. It appears that India has symbolically played duck. However, the Kabul regime is under tremendous pressure to do something; it could not undo anti-India feelings across Afghanistan, both at the masses and elite levels.

India’s actions at the time when the world is beset with a global health crisis are actively masking a deeper problem. The international community is fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, and the BJP-led government is grimly engaged in perpetuating and solidifying the Hindutva agenda on Muslims of this region.

The writer is a freelancer