New Delhi: In a big diplomatic achievement for India, major countries, including the US, the UK, France and Russia, have refused to recognise the Taliban regime for now, saying that the radical group needs to first live up to international expectations on issues of human rights and terrorism. Top diplomatic sources told The Sunday Guardian that the powerful nations of P-5, through diplomatic channels have told the Taliban leadership that the ruling group in Kabul has, so far, failed to satisfy them on various counts.
A senior diplomat privy to the meetings in Washington told The Sunday Guardian that the Joe Biden administration’s top officials conveyed Washington’s unwillingness to give recognition to the Taliban. In addition to this, the Taliban’s bid to gain international recognition suffered a massive blow when the United Nations (UN) put off a decision on its request seeking global acknowledgement. Diplomats say that the deferral amounts to denial of recognition to the Taliban for now by the powerful UN Committee which is the nine-nation Credentials Committee of the General Assembly that is responsible for approving the diplomatic representation of each UN member states. In several previous meetings, major nations, including the US, the UK, France and Russia, have already “denounced the repressive actions of the Taliban”.
In what comes as a shot in the arm for India, the European Union (EU) has also asked the Taliban “to see movement on commitments made by the insurgents to set up in Kabul, including on humanitarian access, counterterrorism and the formation of an inclusive government.” This was said by the EU special envoy for Afghanistan Tomas Niklasson on 3 December.
“The EU and India are close on most issues related to Afghanistan, including the need not to isolate the Afghan people even as there is no recognition of the interim government formed by the Taliban,” Niklasson said. Niklasson made these comments after he met Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla and exchanged views on the “current situation in Afghanistan”.
According to sources, since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, Indian diplomats have been active in Washington, Moscow, Paris and London apart from other countries to impress upon the leaderships in the respective nations not to take any decision hurriedly on giving recognition to the Taliban. Sources said Pakistan also activated its diplomatic channels in these countries to garner support for the Taliban, but Islamabad’s campaign turned out to be ineffective. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has already said that the Taliban were interested in having communication with the world so that their government was recognised.
Pakistan has been trying to convince the world to engage with the Taliban diplomatically after they seized control of Kabul on 15 August. But India mounted a massive diplomatic campaign at the level of the United Nations as well, sources say. India’s permanent representative at the UN was working on it relentlessly, sources added. “As a result, the UN has also turned down the Taliban’s request to have its chosen envoy address the General Assembly,” says a diplomat.
India has at the same time managed to send out a message globally that though it does not want the Taliban to be given legitimacy now, it must be ensured that the citizens of Afghanistan do not suffer because of this. India sending aid to Afghanistan is being seen as part of this diplomatic strategy. India had placed a request to send wheat and life-saving medicines to Afghanistan two months ago but Pakistan was creating obstacles. After global pressure, Pakistan decided to allow the Afghan trucks for transportation of wheat and life-saving drugs. In a message to Pakistan, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi has said several times that there cannot be conditionalities attached to humanitarian assistance. The world community has lauded India’s role in helping Afghan people even though the recognition is not being given to the Taliban there.
According to sources, the Taliban recently reached out to the United States and other countries seeking recognition for their government in Afghanistan. The insurgents’ group said that a failure to do so and the continued freezing of Afghan funds abroad would lead to problems not only for the country, but for the world.
But Washington and other nations remained unmoved, turning down the Taliban’s request. The global community is said to have told them that they should first seek internal legitimacy within the country before international recognition. None of the nations which the Taliban and even Pakistan tried to curry favour with has yet announced their formal acknowledgement of the Taliban as the rightful rulers of the country, sources said.
No country has formally recognised the Taliban government since the insurgents took over the country in August. Moreover, billions of dollars in Afghan assets and funds abroad have also been frozen. Meanwhile, the upcoming India-Russia Annual Summit will be another opportunity for India to discuss the Taliban issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sources say Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Putin will discuss the Afghan situation thoroughly.