India Officially Engages The Taliban: Opening Diplomatic Doors For A Return Of Presence In Kabul?

NEW DELHI: On #TheGist, Ambassador Vivek Katju, India’s Former Envoy To Afghanistan and Ex-Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) in conversation with StratNews Global Associate Editor Amitabh P. Revi.

Ambassador Katju discusses the first publicly announced visit since the Taliban takeover on August 15, 2021 of a team led by J.P. Singh, Joint Secretary(Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran) in the MEA to Kabul, the meetings with Taliban officials, the reasons, necessity and timing of the outreach, India’s security and strategic concerns, the difference between engagement and recognition, whether the Taliban gets de-facto legitimisation, is there any evidence of the Taliban’s independence from Pakistan’s deep state, the Pakistan-China nexus, how to deal with the sense of abandonment of people associated with the erstwhile Islamic Republic, the Taliban’s links to other terrorist groups targeting India being the target, the U.S gameplan and the road ahead.