Will India get the last laugh as the Taliban government grapples with insecurity?

There has been a flurry of activity in the Taliban’s vicinity recently.

Apart from delegates from various powers meeting with Taliban representatives in Doha – particularly those from the United States and the European Union – a number of conferences, largely at a regional level, have been held on how to formulate a reaction and policy towards the country.

All of Afghanistan’s neighbours – the Central Asian republics, China, Iran, Pakistan, and India – took part in the Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan, which were hosted by Moscow. It was also attended by a high-ranking delegation from the ruling Taliban.

What Was the Goal of the Moscow Gathering?

The goal, according to Zameer Kabulov, President Putin’s special envoy for Afghanistan and the driving force behind Moscow’s Afghan policy, was to find “regional consensus” among the attendees on the Taliban-ruled country.

However, another goal of the conference was to persuade the Taliban to fulfil their obligations, including forming a broad-based government in Kabul that reflected the country’s ethnic and religious diversity, upholding basic human rights for all Afghans, and once again obtaining assurances from the Taliban that Afghan territory would not be used as a launchpad for terrorist attacks on other countries.

A Conference of This Nature is Being Held in India.

Tehran sponsored a similar gathering of regional and neighbouring states shortly after, and more recently last week, to discuss how to cope with the Taliban. The de facto goal was once again to reach a regional agreement and put pressure on the Taliban to keep their promises.

The Hazara community and other Shias in Afghanistan, who share religious ties with Shia Iran, are particularly important to Tehran. Opinions on the Taliban were mixed in Tehran, as they were in Moscow.