New Delhi: As uncertainty increases in Afghanistan, New Delhi evacuated all its India-based personnel from Kandahar by a special flight, as Taliban advanced into the region amid fighting and violence. The Indian mission is now manned only by local Afghan staff and while it is technically open, for all intents and purposes, India is out of the region. In an announcement, the Taliban claimed this week they control 85% of the country. Security sources feel Taliban are incharge of about a third of the country but have a significant presence at choke points that control cities and important highways.
The MEA spokesperson said, “India is closely monitoring the evolving security situation in Afghanistan. The safety and security of our personnel is paramount. The Consulate General of India in Kandahar has not been closed. However, due to the intense fighting near Kandahar city, India-based personnel have been brought back for the time being. I want to emphasise that this is a temporary measure until the situation stabilises. The consulate continues to operate through our local staff members.”
India had already closed down its missions in Jalalabad and Herat in 2020, citing Covid, but it was clear that the security situation had played a part. Despite some optimistic assessments by the departing US military forces, the Afghan government security forces are collapsing with barely a fight. The Taliban too are playing a smarter game this time - by controlling and closing off the northern borders as well as on the Iranian side - to capture border revenue sources as well prevent the growth of any Northern Alliance-like formation to challenge them.
Taliban capture key districts
The situation in Afghanistan has become more volatile, with the Taliban launching a blistering campaign and capturing key districts of the country, in an escalated move as the US forces gradually withdraw from the country. Responding to a question whether the Afghan government thinks the US betrayed it, Atmar said that Washington had signed an agreement with the Taliban with honest intentions. “The Taliban did not fulfil their part of the deal and deceived the whole world. The Taliban are making a huge mistake. All of us have extended a hand of friendship towards them,” he said. He said the Afghan government was telling the Taliban to honour the Doha peace deal, adding that Kabul had fulfilled its obligations of the deal related to prisoners’ swap and ensuring exit of foreign troops from the country.Jaishankar will face Pak min at SCO meet.
Pak’s terror groups join Taliban war
Thousands of Pakistani terrorists from Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and other groups are currently fighting alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan in a clear violation of the 2020 peace deal signed by the Taliban and the US, according to reports from security agencies. The assessments come at a time of growing alarm in the international community, including India, at the Taliban’s rapid resurgence in Afghanistan that some intelligence agencies fear is poised to wrest control of key parts of the country from the Afghan government.
A majority of the LeT and JeM fighters are active in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces in eastern Afghanistan and Helmand and Kandahar provinces in the country’s southeast, according to information gathered by Afghan and Indian security agencies. All four Afghan provinces share borders with Pakistan – Kunar and Nangarhar with the erstwhile tribal areas and the other two with Balochistan. Terrorist fighters from other Pakistan-based groups such as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Jamaat-ul-Arhar, Lashkar-e-Islam and al-Badr have also been spotted fighting alongside the Taliban in sizeable numbers.
