Some Indian experts urge the New Delhi government to engage with the Taliban to ensure the country’s interests in Afghanistan
“Economic, political and cultural relations between India and the Taliban-led Afghanistan would be mutually beneficial. Taliban have already expressed their desire to have ‘trade, cultural and economic relations’ with India,” Azami notes. Azami was also one of the contributors to the Carnegie report.
Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul, second left, and his Indian counterpart S.M Krishna, third from left, attend the opening session of the Delhi Investment Summit on Afghanistan in New Delhi, India, June 28, 2012.
India has another major challenge in the form of managing the Kashmir conflict on its northern border. Although the Taliban initially said it will not interfere in the conflict, one of its spokespersons recently sentAll these circumstances make it hard for India to accept the Taliban as a force that has strong ties with Islamabad.
“India, according to a former senior U.S. NSC [National Security Council] staffer, ‘has very deep ties to the NDS’,” which is the abbreviation of National Directorate of Security, the intelligence apparatus of Afghanistan, said the report. “It's not just about Indian investments in Afghanistan, the Taliban takeover has increased threats against India directly.” says Ioannis Koskinas, a former US military officer stationed in Afghanistan in the past. Koskinas is now a senior fellow at the international security program of New America, a US think-tank.
“Also, [Indians] need to think about Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent. They have congratulated the Taliban on their victory. AQIS fighters or ideologically aligned groups are already fighting for the Taliban,” Koskinas adds. Besides addressing its security concerns, India also has other interests in Afghanistan, according to Azami.
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