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OPINION SEPTEMBER 03, 2021 | The Indian Eye 14

in terrorist attacks during the Afghanistan can well become a
construction of the highway. global terrorism hub under the
In February 2021, India Taliban.
signed a memorandum of under- Jaishankar assessed the pre-
standing (MoU) with Afghani- vailing scenario as such when he
stan for building the Lalandar (or described it as “critical” while
Shatoot) Dam that would have briefing an all-party meet in
met the drinking water needs Parliament on 26 August 2021
of two million people in Kabul that was attended by 37 leaders
city, besides rejuvenating the ir- from 31 parties. Maintaining
rigation and drainage networks. that evacuating Indian nationals
On 15 July 2021, Pulitzer from Afghanistan was the gov-
prize-winning Indian photojour- ernment’s immediate and top
nalist Danish Siddiqui, working priority, he reportedly indicated
for Reuters news agency, was that around 15,000 people had
killed by the Taliban in their sought the Indian government’s
clash with Afghan special forces assistance to leave the country.
in Spin Boldak district of south- When asked about the govern-
ern Kandahar province border- ment’s approach towards the
ing Pakistan. India raised this Taliban, Jaishankar reportedly
issue at the UN Security Council The last American soldier leaving Afghanistan boarded C-17 aircraft marks said, “Situation in Afghanistan
(UNSC), of which it is the cur- the end of the US mission, in Kabul (ANI) has not settled, let it settle down.”
rent President. However, all those wanting
Indian assets in Afghanistan paramilitary soldiers. million worth of Indian exports to escape the turmoil in Afghan-
have also been targeted in the Pakistan Prime Minister and US$ 500 million worth of istan, including Indians, stare
past by the Haqqanis, a major Imran Khan has endorsed Tal- Afghan exports. Afghan exports at uncertainty as evacuation ef-
Taliban faction with strong links iban’s reconquest of Afghani- have mainly been fresh and forts were recently hampered by
to Pakistan’s Inter-Services In- stan, equating it with breaking dried fruit, while India’s have a massive suicide attack ripping
telligence (ISI). Fifty-eight peo- the “shackles of slavery”. “You included pharmaceuticals, med- through the outskirts of the Ka-
ple were slain in one such strike take over the other culture and ical equipment, sugar, cement, bul international airport on 26
on the Indian Embassy in Kabul become psychologically subser- and computers and peripherals. August. Residual US forces in
in July 2008. vient, and when that happens, This trade has already vaporised charge of the airport and of the
The Taliban fomented terror- please remember, it is worse with the disruption in flights. mass evacuations went on high
ism in India through terror out- than actual slavery,” Khan in- Stressing that the events in alert after the Islamic State Kho-
fits like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) toned. “It is harder to throw off Afghanistan “have naturally en- rasan Province (ISKP) claimed
and Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami the chains of cultural enslave- hanced global concerns about responsibility for the attack that
(HuJI) that were created in Af- ment; what is happening in Af- their implications for both re- killed 92 people, including 13 US
ghanistan and based in Pakistan ghanistan now, they have broken gional and international secu- service members. US officials
from where they launched their the shackles of slavery.” rity”, Jaishankar told a UNSC fear more attacks by the ISKP,
terror strikes against India. Even as Kabul fell to the Tal- briefing on 19 August 2021 that including possibly rockets or car
The most noticeable of such iban marauders on 15 August the world must never compro- bombs targeting the airport.
attacks was the hijacking of In- 2021, China, Pakistan’s com- mise with the evil of terrorism. Given the evolving scenario,
dian Airlines IC-814 Kathman- rade-in-arms and India’s other Pointing to the release by Taliban India and the international com-
du–Delhi flight by four terrorists adversary, expressed willingness of thousands of terrorist-prison- munity will evidently be taking
from the Pakistan-based HuJI to develop “friendly relations” ers from Afghan jails, he also a calibrated response that will
splinter group Harkat-ul-Muja- with them. Chinese foreign min- indicated “heightened activities” undoubtedly depend on the con-
hideen (HuM), who had com- istry spokesperson Hua Chuny- of the Haqqani network and duct of the Taliban.
mandeered the flight to Kanda- ing was quoted as saying, “China said that other Pakistan-based Sarosh Bana is Executive Editor,
har in December 1999 when the respects the right of the Afghan terrorist groups such as the LeT Business India, Mumbai
Taliban controlled Afghanistan. people to independently deter- and JeM continued to operate
With Taliban backing, the HuM mine their own destiny and is with “impunity and encourage- Views expressed are of the author
negotiated the release of three willing to continue to develop... ment”. Around 5,000 to 7,000 and do not necessarily reflect the
of its terrorists imprisoned by friendly and cooperative rela- such prisoners—many al-Qaeda views of the Manohar Parrikar
the Indian government. One tions with Afghanistan.” extremists among them—have IDSA or of the Govt. of India.
of those released was Maulana India and Afghanistan, per- reportedly been released by the This is the abridged version of
Masood Azhar, who founded force, had to establish two air Taliban from Pul-e-Charkhi, Af- the article which appeared first
the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) corridors—Kabul–Delhi and ghanistan’s largest prison locat- in the Comment section of the
terrorist faction that was behind Herat–Delhi—as Pakistan de- ed east of Kabul.
the December 2001 attack on nied India an overland route The unfolding horror in Af- website (www.idsa.in) of Mano-
the Indian Parliament as well to Afghanistan. The air links ghanistan appears foreboding for har Parrikar Institute for Defense
as the Pulwama terror attack helped bilateral trade touch US$ India, as for the rest of the world, Studies and Analyses, New Delhi
on August 30, 2021
in February 2019 that killed 40 1.4 billion, comprising US$ 900 considering that a war-ravaged

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