Taliban fighters are now at the gates of Kabul as panicked workers fled government offices and helicopters began landing at the U.S. Embassy in the Afghan capital, further tightening the militants’ grip on the country. In a nationwide offensive that has taken just over a week, the Taliban has defeated, co-opted or sent Afghan security forces fleeing from wide swathes of the country, even with some air support by the U.S. military.
With the Taliban’s control over Afghanistan looks inevitable, here is how the insurgent groups enjoy relations with the international powers:
China
China is prepared to recognise the Taliban as the legitimate ruler of Afghanistan if it manages to overpower the democratically elected government in Kabul, ANI quoted reports as saying. New Chinese military and intelligence assessments of the current situation in Afghanistan have prompted them to prepare to formalize their ties with the Taliban, according to the report.
Russia
Russia, which fought a 10-year war in Afghanistan that ended with Soviet troops’ withdrawal in 1989, has made a diplomatic comeback as a power broker in Afghanistan, mediating between feuding factions as it jockeys with Washington for influence in the country. In 2019, it hosted talks between various Afghan factions. Taliban delegation met with senior Russian diplomats during two days of talks, insisted that the movement has honored its end of the deal signed last year on Qatar, where the Taliban maintain a political office. According to a report in Financial Times, President Putin is putting faith in a new relationship with the Taliban that he hopes will contain the threat from Isis and al-Qaeda.
Pakistan
Pakistan is said to have close ties with the Taliban and according to reports the close ties is being used by the US to deal with the Taliban. However, Taliban denies having any influence from the neighbouring country.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has told every public and private forum that Pakistan wants peace in Afghanistan, has no favorites in the battle and is deeply opposed to a military takeover by the Taliban. However, last year, PM Khan called Osama bin Laden a martyr in a speech to Parliament, seen as a nod to militants.
India
For India the first and foremost ramification will be the threat to its investments. India has been investing in infrastructure, education, medical, agriculture as well as power generation. However, earlier in May, Taliban has said that it would like to have a positive relationship with India and welcomed New Delhi’s cooperation in Afghanistan. Taliban chief Hibatullah Akhundzada had also reiterated earlier of the group’s plans to have “positive bilateral relations” with regional countries.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has maintained a silence over the developments in Afghanistan. Saudi Arabia maintains good relations with both Pakistan and Afghanistan. According to a report in BBC, the country has maintained a distance with the affairs, ever since the peace talks in Qatar in 2018.
Iran
Iran is concerned with the developments in Afghanistan as a lot of soldiers from the country is fleeing to Iran. Iran also hosts one of the largest Afghan refugees. Iran is also significant for the Afghan insurgent group because the country has maintained good terms with almost all Afghan stakeholders. In recent months Iran has tried to improve relations with the Taliban. In July, a Taliban delegation had met the Iranian foreign minister in Tehran.
Turkey
Turkey is offering to protect Kabul’s strategic airport after the U.S. forces leave, despite the Taliban’s advance. Some say Turkey has a vested interest in Afghanistan’s stability, but Turkish officials play down the diplomatic aspects of the mission and stress the importance of relieving the suffering in Afghanistan. However, Taliban is not happy with Turkey’s intention and has threatened Turkey not to send its troops to Kabul airport. Turkey has close ties with Pakistan and with Pakistan’s Taliban, so Turkey’s role in Afghanistan could be important.
Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Assembly Elections Live Updates here.
Comments
0 comment