Editorial: Challenges with Kabul

The terrorist attack on a gurdwara in Kabul, killing two people, comes as a grim reminder of the challenges that India faces in its engagement with Kabul. An extremist group with a medieval mindset that makes no secret of its animosity towards minorities and women and has bombed and killed its way to grab power […]

The terrorist attack on a gurdwara in Kabul, killing two people, comes as a grim reminder of the challenges that India faces in its engagement with Kabul. An extremist group with a medieval mindset that makes no secret of its animosity towards minorities and women and has bombed and killed its way to grab power over a country, is part of the problem, not the solution. This is not the first time that Sikhs have been targeted in Afghanistan. In 2018, when Kabul had not yet fallen to the Taliban, a suicide attack in Jalalabad killed 18 people of the community, and in 2020, an attack on another gurudwara in Kabul left 25 people dead. The responsibility for all these attacks was claimed by the Afghan chapter of the Islamic State, which has been a thorn in the flesh for the Taliban rulers. The terror attack took place barely two weeks after an Indian delegation visited Afghanistan to reach out to the Taliban regime, which had taken control of the war-hit country last August. The IS has called it ‘an act of support’ for the Prophet, a thinly veiled reference to the blasphemous remarks made by two BJP leaders that recently sparked outrage in the Islamic world. The Kabul attack makes it clear that the controversy over the remarks is yet to die down despite the damage control exercise by the NDA government. Afghanistan was among the countries that had condemned the use of derogatory words against the Prophet. This came as an embarrassment for the government at a time when it was trying to build bridges with the Taliban.

Afghanistan’s notoriety as a hub for terrorism against ethnoreligious minorities and neighbouring countries is gaining traction again under the Taliban. The Taliban has clearly flouted the international will by refusing to follow up on its commitments relating to prevention of terrorism and protection of human rights. A carrot-and-stick approach is needed to persuade it into meaningful action on these issues. Disengagement is certainly not an option. India should press the Taliban to crack the whip on the terror groups which have a history of carrying out terror attacks on Indian soil and pose a constant threat to peace and stability in the subcontinent. The Taliban regime needs to get its act together quickly as its failure to protect the minorities will adversely impact its chances of gaining international legitimacy. Close coordination with the Taliban is vital as more terror attacks targeting the minorities in that country are not ruled out. This engagement is even more important in the light of reports that Afghan territory is being used by Pakistan-based terror groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba. India seems to have realised that the Taliban are not going anywhere and thus has initiated diplomatic outreach.

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