In this article, we will discuss India’s Taliban Challenge. So, let’s get started.
Challenges For India
- Issue of Indian Security: The restoration of Taliban rule in Afghanistan presents some very serious potential challenges for Indian security.
- The challenges range from securing its development infrastructures to safely evacuating Indians stranded in troubled Afghanistan.
- Spread of International Terrorism: For India, a bigger challenge will be about the Taliban’s renewed support for international terrorism and Pakistan’s re-direction of jihadi groups that have allegedly fought with the Taliban towards India.
- Religious Fundamentalism: Like all radical groups, the Taliban will have trouble balancing its religious ideology with the imperatives of state interests.
- India faces a challenge to deradicalise the region for long lasting peace and stability.
- New Regional Geopolitical Developments: There can be new regional geopolitical alignments (such as China-Pakistan-Taliban) which may go against the interests of India.
- Meanwhile, the US withdrawal compels the creation of a new balance of power system in and around Afghanistan.
- Moreover, the US and the West will try to shape the international attitudes towards the new regime.
- No Contiguity With Taliban: Unlike Pakistan, China and Iran, India has no contiguity with Afghanistan.
- Russia has a security treaty with Tajikistan, for instance, and has deployed more troops there to prevent a destabilising spill over from the turmoil in Afghanistan into Central Asia.
- India has no such security responsibilities and no direct access to Central Asia.
- This may give reasons to the Taliban to hit back at India through Pakistan in J&K, given that LeT and Jaish are operating in Afghanistan alongside the Taliban.
