OPINION: Taliban minister’s hobnobbing in Islamabad dangerous for India

Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi's hobnobbing with the top brass in the Pakistan establishment is full of dangerous implications for India. Islamising modern secular India-Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, in particular-has been among the Taliban's priority goals.

There is a near consensus across the contemporary international strategic spectrum that Islamist terrorism constitutes one of the greatest threats to humanity. But does the United Nations Security Council, which is supposed to ensure peace and stability in the world, care?

Observers say the Council's recent softness towards Muttaqi's hobnobbing with the top brass in the Pakistan establishment offers a concrete evidence as to its non-seriousness in dealing with the evil of Islamist terrorism. Muttaqi is among the notorious Taliban officials who have blood of Afghans on their hands. The Council had thus rightly slapped a travel ban on him.

But, the other day, the Council agreed to allow Muttaqi to travel to Islamabad. Subsequently, from May 5 to May 8, he held talks with various top officials in Islamabad. He also participated in the 5th Trilateral Foreign Ministers Dialogue with his Pakistan and Chinese counterparts Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Qin Gang.

Muttaqi's hobnobbing with the top brass in the Pakistan establishment is full of dangerous implications for India. The Afghan Taliban came to power in Kabul in August 2021. What the Taliban conception of the social and world order is has been no secret. Islamising modern secular India-Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, in particular-has been among its priority goals.

The Taliban's linkage with al-Qaeda is well documented. It has throughout facilitated al-Qaeda's presence in the region. Today a significant part of al-Qaeda's leadership remains based in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Qaeda has an active presence in at least 15 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces. The Haqqani Network, an integral part of the Taliban, has been al-Qaeda's closest ally since the 1980s.

Minister Muttaqi seems determined to carry forward the Taliban agenda. For this, he is working to strengthen the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) which has had ideological linkages with the Afghan Taliban. The TTP is Qaeda-affiliated. It has been very helpful to the Taliban in toppling the previous government in Kabul. Muttaqi today wants Islamabad to hold negotiations with the TTP and patch up their differences.

Muttaqi may succeed in his Islamabad mission. During his sojourn to Islamabad last week, he met Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir. General Munir reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

Minister Muttaqi's meeting with General Munir cannot be taken lightly. Unlike in any other democratic nation, the Chief of the Army Staff in Pakistan decides the country's foreign agenda. General Munir is the de facto ruler of Pakistan today.

The international community, especially major world powers, must take all appropriate steps to tame the Taliban before it is late. In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the United States launched its mission Operation Enduring Freedom to overthrow the then Taliban regime and dismantle all its jihadist assets, human and material, in the region.

Before the Joe Biden administration in Washington and allies finally withdrew their troops from Afghanistan, they should have seen to it that the very objective of their war on terror in Afghanistan was accomplished and a people-friendly political system installed in the country. Unfortunately, this did not happen.

The Taliban government is a threat to world peace and the cherished values of all modern civilized States. It has little respect for the rights of women and minorities in the country. Historically linked with the violent radical Islamist forces based in the Middle East, this predominantly Pashtun group aims to consolidate its version of Islamic rule across the country and act as a base for global jihadist groups.

The observers add that Washington needs to be tough with Islamabad to rein in the Taliban. Islamabad has long been a partner of radical Islamist forces the world over. During 1980-89, Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) acted as the coordinating centre for the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaeda, the so-called charities-such as Muslim World League, International Relief Organization, World Assembly of Muslim Youth and Red Crescent-and radical Wahhabis from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

After the Soviet Union left Afghanistan, the ISI helped Egyptian terrorists Ayman al-Zawahiri and Omar Abdel Rahman, al-Qaeda supremo Osama bin Laden and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. After 9/11, Islamabad allowed al-Qaeda to move across the border into its remote frontiers. It allowed al-Qaeda and other jihadist groups to plan new terror attacks. After the fall of the Taliban rule-I, Islamabad allowed its Shura Council to locate itself in Quetta.

(Jagdish N. Singh is a senior journalist based in New Delhi. He is also Senior Distinguished Fellow at the Gatestone Institute, New York)

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of OneIndia and OneIndia does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.