News Analysis India

Tag: taliban government

  • BJP believes there is Talibani rule in Opposition ruled states: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday slammed newly appointed West Bengal BJP Chief Sukanta Majumdar for his “Taliban government in West Bengal” remark, and said usage such of language in democracy degrades the level of political discourse.

    Speaking to ANI, Raut said that BJP believes that there is “Talibani rule” in every Opposition governed state. “Where there is no BJP government or there is a government of an opposition party, the BJP believes there is Talibani rule. What is the meaning of Talibani Raj? In a democracy, this kind of language does not suit anyone. Mamata Banerjee’s government was elected with a majority. So, is BJP calling the people of West Bengal ‘Talibanis’? If such statements are made in politics, then what will be the level of our politics?” he asked.

    Sukanta Majumdar, who is an MP from Balurghat, on Monday replaced Dilip Ghosh as state president. Days after his appointment, he equated TMC’s government to the Taliban and said that he would fight against it.

    The Shiv Sena leader also hit out at the Central government for not taking action against BJP leaders comparing democratically elected state governments in India with the Taliban. “A Union Minister was also comparing our government in Maharashtra with Taliban. The MP who is from West Bengal is calling the elected government there ‘Talibani’. The Central government is not taking action against these people. Is this kind of behaviour acceptable to the government? In the faceoff between Union and State, if any state does not agree to Centre’s views, then could such language be used?” he asked further.

  • 736 Afghans recorded for new registration in India from Aug 1 to Sep 11: UNHCR

    The UN refugee agency said it is in constant dialogue with the government on matters pertaining to Afghan nationals, including issuance and extensions of visa, assistance, and solutions.

  • ‘Better to wait before judging new Taliban’

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  India is ready to give time to the Taliban to stay true to its words before any judgement is made about their intentions, said a senior government functionary on Wednesday. 

    Speaking on the condition of anonymity, he said, “As of now, the Taliban has said it will not interfere with Kashmir. So let’s not doubt their statement.” Replying to the question of the Taliban’s effect on Kashmir, the source added, “We are prepared to handle any situation in Kashmir. There have been the presence of foreign terrorists earlier also and we had successfully dealt with them.

    Anas Haqqani had told the media last week that Kashmir is not part of its jurisdiction. But, within two days, Suhail Shaheen had said that as Muslims, the Taliban has rights to support Muslims in Kashmir or any other country. But Taliban leader Sher Muhammed Stanakzai had asked India to continue with its development and humanitarian activities.

    The officer pointed out that if the Taliban has not changed from what it was 20 years back, then it will be a problem for the world and India. More than that it will be a problem for the women of Afghanistan. 

  • Terror faces in Afghan Cabinet makes New Delhi uneasy

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  With the Taliban appointing several UN-sanctioned terrorists in its Cabinet, including Siraj Haqqani of the Haqqani Network, security concerns have grown in New Delhi. Experts believe the Taliban’s move was not surprising and that New Delhi would be prepared to deal with the new Taliban government in Afghanistan despite the presence of Haqqani, who is considered close to the ISI and Al-Qaeda.

    “There is a wider section of people asserting that the Taliban government will lead to augmented insecurity in India. However, the situation is still unfolding and there are strong apprehensions that the Afghanistan-Pakistan border will become more volatile and force Islamabad to maintain its focus more in that region. More importantly, it is pertinent to recall that the biggest threat to Indian security for long has been from ISI, which has used its terror proxies operating out of Pakistani soil against India,” said Ajit Kumar Singh, Research Fellow at the Institute of Conflict Management.

    “There was never a period when ISI was not relentless in its nefarious design to destabilise India. Yet, India has minimised the threat due to the security establishment attuning itself as per demands of the new challenges,” added Singh.

    Russia-based analyst Andrew Korybko said although New Delhi may have concerns over Haqqani’s presence in the Cabinet, it cannot do anything about it. “At most, New Delhi can refuse to recognise the acting government or pragmatically engage with it while pressuring others to do the same. But if someone else decides to still engage with it, India will be powerless to stop them. It can only rely on informational means to discredit these authorities,” he said.

    Singh thinks the Indian security establishment has gained experience in counter-terrorism. “Consequently, there is no such imminent threat due to change of guard in Afghanistan. But there is no scope for complacency and vigil on ground must be increased.”

    ALSO READ | India, Russia share Afghanistan terror overflow worry

    Security concerns have been high since Tuesday after the Taliban declared the formation of its government. Haqqani’s inclusion caught the attention of officials in New Delhi as his group had been involved in bombing at the Indian Embassy in Kabul. He is known to have close ties with anti-India organisations.

    A former diplomat, who did not wish to be named, said there was no surprise in the inclusion of UN-sanctioned terrorists. “I am sure this came as no surprise to New Delhi. The challenge now will be to make sure that Afghan soil is not used by anti-India organisations to spread terror. India must keep engaging with the Taliban and also partner countries to put pressure on them to ensure that Afghan soil does not become a safe haven for terrorists,” he said.

  • India, Russia share Afghanistan terror overflow worry

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  With terror inextricably linked to the DNA of the government unveiled by the Taliban in Afghanistan, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Wednesday held separate meetings with his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev and CIA chief Williams Burns. During the Doval-Patrushev meeting both sides agreed to coordinate their approaches in multilateral formats on the developments in Afghanistan.

    The Indian stress was on pressuring Pakistan to put a lid on terror overflow from Afghanistan. “We conveyed to the Russians that Pakistan has a special responsibility to ensure that Afghanistan soil is not used to spread terrorism,” sources said.

    Regarding the agenda of the Doval-Patrushev meeting, top officials said the political, security and humanitarian situation in the war-torn country and its possible implications on India and China was discussed at length. The role of drug cartels was also discussed with Doval and his counterpart assuring each other of cooperation to meet current and future threats and measures to assist Afghanistan.

    Doval is understood to have underlined Pakistan deep state’s symbiotic links with terror groups in Afghanistan, such as the Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. He also expressed concern over security of minorities like Afghan Hindus and Sikhs who could not be evacuated.

    Patrushev later met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The two sides reaffirmed their intention to strengthen coordination in the field of enhancing regional stability, including on the Afghan direction,” a Russian Embassy statement said.

    The India-Russia meeting assumes significance as weeks ago, Russia and China had abstained from voting on a joint India-France-US-UK resolution on Afghanistan at the UN Security Council. Earlier in the day, New Delhi shared its Afghan concerns with visiting security heads of Britain and the US, MI-6 chief Richard Moore and CIA chief William Burns, respectively. 

    Call to curb terrorBoth Russia and India agreed on the need for Taliban to adhere to promises, curb global terror groups operating out of Afghanistan and their consequent threat to Central Asia and India, and smuggling

  • Envoy hopes India backs Russia’s view on Afghanistan

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  As the Taliban move closer to forming the government in Afghanistan, the Russian envoy to India has voiced support for a democratic and neutral government in Afghanistan. He hoped that India, too, would support such a government.

    “Russia is very much committed to a peaceful, democratic and neutral Afghanistan. I believe that India could share these feelings. These feelings reflected in our bilateral cooperation in multiple formats like SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group,” said Russian Ambassador to India, Nikolay Kudashev, on Friday.

    Ambassador Kudashev said India-Russia friendship is a much needed and almost guaranteed partnership for world peace. “India-Russia friendship is one more guarantee of peaceful and stable development of our countries, of the region and the world. The main feature of our privileged strategic partnership is the peaceful orientation.”

    Before the Taliban seized control of Kabul on August 15, Russia had played a proactive role in the Afghan peace process and hosted the Taliban leaders in Russia. Also, the Russian Embassy in Kabul kept functioning during the tumultuous days. 

    On Friday, while speaking at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed hope that the Taliban would behave in a “civilised” manner in Afghanistan so that the global community can maintain diplomatic ties with Kabul. “The sooner the Taliban enters the family of civilised people, so to speak, the easier it will be to contact, communicate and somehow influence and ask questions,” Putin said.

    The Russian Ambassador spoke to mediapersons on the sidelines of a commemorative event which he attended with the Vice Chief of the Indian Army, Lt Gen CP Mohanty to honour the Indian Red Star awardees late Havildar Gajendra Singh and late Subedar Narayan Rao Nikkam who were part of the Supply and Transport Company during World War II and contributed greatly to the Russian campaign, which the Russians refer to as the Great Patriotic War.