Why did India and Russia increase their engagements with the Taliban?

India and Russia have become more active in engaging with the Taliban these days. Recently, Indian External Affairs S Jaishankar had a telephonic conversation with Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.

This dialogue is important for two reasons: 1- This is the first time that India has held talks with the Taliban at the level of foreign minister; 2- It is taking place in the midst of New Delhi’s tensions with Islamabad. According to some reports, Ibrahim Sadr, the Taliban’s deputy interior minister and a figure loyal to the group’s leader, also traveled to New Delhi during the recent war between Pakistan and India.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s deputy prime minister for economics, also led a delegation to the “Russia-Islamic World Summit” held for several days in the city of Kazan, Russia. In addition, it is said that Muttaqi is scheduled to travel to China next week and he already went to Iran today.

As for India, its foreign minister’s phone call with Muttaqi shows that New Delhi understands the importance of engaging with the Taliban. It would understand better if it were at war with Pakistan. If this call had been made in a normal situation, it might not have been of much importance. It can also be said that the Taliban acted in a way that satisfied both sides in the face of the Pakistan-India war, and Jaishankar called Muttaqi for this reason and praised the group’s apparently impartial stance, which led to the condemnation of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir.

So that Pakistan would not be left out, the Taliban agreed to host a meeting in Kabul, where special representatives from Islamabad and Beijing for Afghanistan were present and met and discussed with the Taliban’s officials. Russia has also become more active than before, with Mullah Baradar’s visit to Kazan and his warm meetings with Russian officials and autonomous republics being a clear example that cannot be taken lightly. Furthermore, Zamir Kabulov, Russia’s special representative for Afghanistan, announced that the Taliban have nominated an ambassador to Moscow, the approval process of which is being reviewed by the host country’s foreign ministry.

These two recent events are the result of the suspension of the Taliban from Russia’s list of “prohibited groups.” Kabulov has also repeatedly said that the suspension of the Taliban from the blacklist leaves Moscow free to interact with the group in all areas. In this sense, Russia has crossed the line of interaction with the Taliban and has reached the edge of “official recognition” of the group; but it does not dare to carry the heavy burden of the regime’s official recognition of the group alone.

Why expand interaction?

It is true that India, in competition with Pakistan, is trying to compromise with the Taliban so that the group does not serve Islamabad’s interests and does not erase New Delhi’s footprint in Afghanistan. Similarly, Russia, in competition with the United States, is trying to win the hearts of the Taliban so that the group does not pave the way for Washington’s renewed presence in Afghanistan.

This is true in its place, but the more effective factor is the forces opposing the Taliban, which are considered too weak in the view of Moscow and New Delhi. If these forces are strong and working with them is not a waste of time, India and Russia, in opposition to Pakistan and the United States, will give ground to the currents opposing this group instead of giving value to the Taliban, and in this way, perhaps a door will open to remove the political blockage in the country.

India and Russia’s engagement with the Taliban is very important because in the past they strongly supported movements that fought against the group. While the engagement of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, etc. with the Taliban is neither new nor causes concern.

UNAMA plan unveiled amid increased engagement between regional governments and the Taliban

In the days when the competition among regional countries to engage with the Taliban has heated up, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has apparently come up with a plan to overcome the current situation in Afghanistan, in which it has also sought the opinions of countries near and far.

The important point is that so far there has been no united and unified opposition from the anti-Taliban forces against this plan, and these forces have not even secretly tried to neutralize it. As usual, UNAMA is pursuing its mission, ignoring the concerns of the opposition to the Taliban, and is trying to implement the plan it has in hand.

Now, given the prevailing desire of countries to engage with the Taliban, it is not unlikely that what UNAMA has put on the table as a plan will be approved, and thus the opposing fronts of this group will be confronted with the action taken and, because of the past and present, will be unable to do anything to defend themselves.