Afghanistan

India’s talks with Afghanistan pose both challenges and opportunities. As China’s influence grows and the Taliban seeks to establish its presence in Delhi, India must navigate these complexities with élan

The Allahabad High Court...

The Delhi High Court on ...

By Prachi Bajpai The ...

The terror bombings and killings around Kabul’s airport have once again focused world attention on the “sudden” American pull out. Actually, President Joe Biden’s “new” Afghanistan policy is old wine in new bottles.

Here are some sobering bits of information. Afghanistan has now endured two decades of horrifying war and brutality under the Taliban, followed by another two decades of American “occupation”, purportedly to the benefit of the common man, and to help set up a legitimate government. Yet, the country now descends into god knows how many years of complete chaos under the Taliban, again.

The Taliban sealed the fate of the democratically elected government in Afghanistan when it marched trium­phantly into Kabul on Aug­ust 15. The Latin phrase veni, vidi, vici (I came, I saw, I conquered) attributed to Julius Caesar following his victory at the Battle of Zela in 42 BC may well apply to the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan.

The blame game for who “lost” Afghanistan is absurd. The real issue is why was America there in the first place? The US military adopted a pattern of deceiving the public about many facets of the war, including willful distortions or flat-out fabrications.

India is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol and does not have a national framework regarding refugees. But continues to grant asylum to a large number of refugees from neighbouring States and respects UNHCR’s mandate for other nationals, mainly from Afghanistan and Myanmar.

The Indian Union Muslim League had moved the apex court, challenging the Ministry of Home Affairs notification, which sought applications for Citizenship from non-Muslims, who are refugees from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh in 13 districts.