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Taliban : India rules out recognition |
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India has ruled out recognizing the Taliban regime in Afghanistan stating the fundamentals of Afghan policy remained unchanged. Reacting to a statement by the Taliban representative at the UN, Foreign Ministry spokesman said, India continues to recognize President Burhanuddin Rabbani’s government as the legitimate regime in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban wants India to consider renewing diplomatic ties with Kabul, citing the so-called close cooperation extended by the militia to resolve the hijacking of the Indian Airlines plane. The permanent representative-designate of the Taliban to the UN, Abdul Hakim Mujadid said in New York the other day the Taliban help in the peaceful resolution of the hijacking crisis provides India a great opportunity to consider starting diplomatic relations with the Taliban, which, he said, “is the legitimate government of Afghanistan,” Mr. Mujahid the momentum of cooperation between Kabul and New Delhi generated during the hijacking should be continued and diplomatic contacts should be established.
India has given no indication of its intention to recognize Taliban regime although it has made positive references to the cooperation extended by the militia in resolving the hijack crisis. New Delhi recognizes the ousted opposition regime of Burhanuddin Rabbani whose representative is accredited as Kabul’s envoy to India.
The prevailing view in the policy making circles in South Block is that the government should have no truck with the Taliban in spite of the so-called positive role played by them during the hijacking of the Indian plane to Kandahar. They say, the decision of External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh to accompany the three top militant released by New Delhi to Kandahar in exchange for the passengers of the hijacked Indian Airlines flight had sent out a wrong signal to the country and the armed forces, senior Army officials feel. It is believed in New Delhi that the Taliban is nothing more than a fundamentalist and militant organisation, and its activities have become a cause for concern even for Pakistan, which played a major role in nurturing it.
Mr. Jaswant Singh’s decision to personally fly to Kandahar to deliver the three terrorists in exchange for the passengers the hijacked plane has accorded de facto legitimacy to the Taliban regime and this has set off speculation about Indian establishing formal relations with the Taliban regime. “Mr. Jaswant Singh should not have gone to Kandahar, it was a terrible mistake,” political observers say. They point out that normally a Foreign Minister does not visit a country with which his country has no ties, even in exceptional circumstances as generated by the hijacking, as the move has “immediate consequences” on bilateral relations between the two regimes.
Political observers wonder given the dubious role played by the Taliban regime, flouting all international convention by ensuring safe passage to the hijackers, how can it claim recognition by India. Speaking on condition of anonymity a senior bureaucrat said that there was a situation at the Kandahar airport when all the hijackers were at a safe distance from the passengers of the ill-fated plane. The hijackers were without arms and could have been easily overpowered by the heavily-armed Taliban militia and dealt with according to the law of the land. It is learnt that there was tension in the air at the Kandahar airport on December 31 when the Indian team insisted that the Taliban government overpower the hijackers and deal with them strictly for their “un-Islamic” act of hijacking and killing one of the passengers. The appeals however fell on deaf ears. For, even as the Taliban government acknowledged that the hijackers had committed an un-Islmaic act, they gave them safe passage, sources said. Rather than treating them as criminals, an Iftar Party was hosted in their honour, put up in a guest house and then provided with vehicles to cross into Pakistan. Even the newer weapons were provided to the hijackers at Kandahar as many passengers admit that the number of weapons with the hijackers increased after the plane had landed at Kandahar. It was only then that the Indian team decided to cut their losses and return with the passengers. Had the Taliban acted in conformity with international conventions, the hijackers would have been overpowered and dealt with according to the law even if it was tribal law, government officials said. In such a situation India would not have released the three militants.
If the External Affairs Minister praised the “positive role” and cooperation by Taliban, India had reasons not to displease the Taliban Government in Kabul. At that point of time, all its hopes of resolving the crisis entirely depended on Taliban’s goodwill. For, despite the disclaimers, Kabul had the necessary physical and moral control over the hijackers. Under the situation, India had no other option but to appeal to the good sense of Kabul for obtaining the release of the hostages. Moreover, there were hopeful suggestions from various sources that the Taliban would like to use the crisis to overcome its isolation, even if marginally. So far, only Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE recognize it. At one stage, Kabul had made the absence of diplomatic recognition as a snag in the way of its initiative to resolve the crisis and made it as a condition for constructive cooperation. On its part, in sending Mr. Jaswant Singh to deliver the three militants in return for the release of the hostages, the Indian side tactfully gave vague hopes for the future without any clear commitment. The temporary tactical compulsions did not blind New Delhi to the real threat being posed by the Taliban as a regional fundamentalist force. Barring Lashkar-e-Toiba, all other militant groups operating in Kashmir - including Hizbul Mujahideen,Badar and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen - have close links with both ISI and different factions of the Taliban. Even in the present hijacking episode, the main actor, Maulana Azhar Masood, is a lose friend of the other pan-Islamic theologian with a sharp political antenna. He is often described as the idealogue of those who entertain visions of a pan-Islami glory.
Taliban - the Frankenstein
Critics of India’s approach towards Pakistan allege that New Delhi has always been underplaying the potential threat from the Islamic militia which has already begun effectively challenging its own original creator, the USA. The Taliban has been a joint project of the USA and Pakistan to counter the erstwhile Najibullah regime in Afghanistan. The Taliban was born in the rugged mountains of the Pak-Afghan border “inside the Pakistani territory sometime in August, 1994. The generally accepted perception is that the militia was born because Pakistan’s Afghanistan policy makers were disillusioned with the failure of their agencies like the ISI to restore normalcy in Kabul. While they were looking for an alternative, Interior Minister in the second Benazir Bhutto Government, Maj. Gen. [retd] Naseerullah Babar, suggested the creation of a students militia along with veterans from the Afghan Mujahideen who had fought the Soviet Army and were since living in Pakistan. The search for a leader of such an outfit came to an end with Mohammed Omar Mujahid, now known as Mullah Omar, close to ISI and qualified with battle experience.
The US came into picture as a bankroller for the supply of arms to the Taliban because of its determination to force the Soviet troops out of Afghanistan. They had enjoyed the backing of Afghanistan President Najibullah, who saw their presence in Kabul as a security for his rule. His relatively stable government in that strife-torn country was taken as a symbol of Soviet power in the region. Using religion as a weapon, the USA recruited the influential mullahs in Pakistan and far-flung Afghan regions to raise a formidable group of fanatics to challenge the Soviets. The Talibs [students] of the innumerable madrassas were easy targets. Those young men had little future hopes in the war-hit backward Afghanistan and hence found a likelihood as indoctrinated mercenaries. The USA provided military training and equipped them with arms. Preservation of Islamic fundamentalism and defence of Islam became their inspiration. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the USA lost interest in the Taliban and other militant outfits. However, by the time the Taliban had already grown into a big force. It had built up huge arms dumps left by the USA. It has a large army of fanatic youths who otherwise had no livelihood. Also one tasted armed victories these forces could not wind up themselves just because the USA had lost interest in them.
In the changed geopolitics, the Frankenstein has turned against its own creator. Even the UN sanctions or aggressive US campaigns have not blunted the Taliban’s fighting capacity. Control of the vital parts of Afghanistan and continuing support from Pakistan and financial backing of Saudi Arabia, Sudan etc. have transformed it into an extremely powerful force in the region. The increased might and Islamic expansionism have made it to turn other countries in the region. The induction of outside militants in Kashmir terrorism has been part of this Islamic expansionist design.
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