Regional International Security Dialogue. Starting today, New Delhi hosted the Delhi Regional Security Dialogue, chaired by India’s NSA Mr. Ajit Doval and attended by various other stakeholders in Afghanistan. This meeting is deemed crucial because it pertains to concerns related to Afghanistan and the vital powers on that country’s current situation and the future outlook. Regional International Security Dialogue.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MEETING
This meeting is significant because it emphasizes India’s role to promote peace and security in Afghanistan and the region. While various countries such as Iran, Russia, Uzbekistan, and other Central Asian Countries surrounding Pakistan have confirmed their presence, China and Pakistan decided to turn down the invitation. Pakistan NSA Moeed Yusuf quirked that ’a spoiler cannot try to be a peacemaker. At the same time, China cited that they faced ‘scheduling issues’ that showcased a lot about the tussle between India’s neighbors. Regional International Security Dialogue.
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Why is this dialogue so special?
It is a one-of-a-kind event in which security heads of major regional stakeholders convened to “assess” the security situation in Afghanistan. In 2018, a committee was formed that concluded that Iran should host a summit of five countries: Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, and Russia. Iran invited Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to the second summit, which took place in 2019. Pakistan did not go there either, assuring Iran that if India were present, they would not. However, Iran went ahead with the conference, and India participated.
Last month, when Islamabad convened a ‘neighbor meeting’ to push the agenda of partial recognition of the current administration of Afghanistan led by the Taliban, Moscow didn’t attend the session as there was ambiguity regarding the recognition of Afghanistan. Furthermore, no representatives from the Afghanistan government led by the Taliban or the government in exile led by ‘President’ Amrulla Saleh had been invited because there was/is still lacunae given their status.
This year, in August, the United States blocked the Taliban’s access to $9.5 Billion funds. Since then, Afghanistan has been plunging more and deeper into an economic quicksand daily, and no one wants to contribute anything more than simply humanitarian assistance. Thus, this conference comes at a critical juncture.
This conference will focus on primarily these finer points:
Radicalization
Drug Trafficking
Increasing threat of Terrorism
Humanitarian assistance among the others
Regional approach or Self Interest?
The focus of various groups shall be to persuade Kabul to act against the different groups sheltered in Afghanistan. Thus, each country that has confirmed its presence will have specific objectives in mind. They are as below:
Russia will focus on its regional role as Moscow has been the primary beneficiary of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan. It will aim towards changing the world order. With the Chinese absence, Russia has an even more crucial role to play considering the global systemic rivalry.
Kazakhstan shall focus on resuming the supply of grains, as the country is heavily dependent on Afghanistan’s exports. According to Kazakh interests, Afghanistan’s strategic significance is more than merely a question of bilateral commercial connections. And there’s something more to consider while examining Kazakhstan’s attitude and practices regarding Afghanistan. These are challenges connected to safeguarding the country’s security and increasing access to global markets for its products.
Kyrgyzstan shall focus on counter-terrorism and drug trafficking as earlier in October, Top NSA representatives of both countries met in New Delhi with the common goal and talks on Afghanistan; thus, this would be an extension to that talk.
Tajikistan shall focus on migrating Afghanis. In the past, when the Taliban took control in Afghanistan in the mid-1990s, New Delhi and Dushanbe worked together. At the same time, Tajikistan has borne the brunt of the crisis since the Taliban emerged as Afghanistan’s new power center without legitimacy. The Tajik population of Afghanistan, which accounts for around 27% of the Afghan population, is migrating to Tajikistan due to fear of persecution at the hands of the Taliban. Moreover, the menace of the drug trade is another security challenge that shall be on their mind.
Turkmenistan will have its eye on decreasing terrorism and radicalism – as these agendas have been the essence that enabled the Afghan government led by Ghani. With the Taliban at the helm, it would be not easy to continue with the same commitments made.
Uzbekistan shall focus on the fleeing migrants who have left Afghanistan in fear of persecution.
Iran would warrant action against anti-Shia groups like IS-K, which was recently involved in geopolitical dimensions with some early attacks attributed to the group. The Taliban bears the burden of protecting the population, including the Shia. But Tehran also sees itself as the defender of the world’s Shias, including in Afghanistan. Thus, Iran will have that in mind before coming to the table for conversation.
For India, it would be the constantly looming threat of Al-Qaeda, the drug trade, and terrorism on the agenda. New Delhi, until now, has not recognized the interim Taliban government but is in talks with them. While India has pledged humanitarian assistance but not funds. While it has blocked all the infrastructure developments, it has assured that a batch of Covid Vaccines will be shipped to Afghanistan.
Way Forward?
With the refusal to attend the meeting, Pakistan’s hypocrisy in supporting Afghanistan was shown again when it failed to reply to India’s request to provide 50,000 tons of wheat to Afghanistan via Pakistan. The land route through Pakistan is the quickest approach to Afghanistan for India, especially when the country is in turmoil. This delay by Pakistan adds to the problem in Afghanistan, which alarms the international community. Unless the Afghan government cautions Pakistan, it will continue to make Afghans suffer due to its distorted policies. Apart from security challenges emerging from Afghanistan, this food crisis will be at the forefront of considerations at the upcoming NSA meeting.
There may also be an appeal to the international world to give humanitarian assistance to the country. There is an unlikely consensus on easing UN Security Council sanctions against members of the present Afghan administration. Demands for human rights observance, women’s education, and respect for minority populations will also be made. Such dialogues, gatherings, and conversations are a method of increasing pressure on the Afghan government to conform to fundamental world values of respect for human beings, whether minorities or women, and combat terrorist groups operating on its land.
The attendance of numerous states at the meeting reflects India’s rising acceptability as a regional power, which wounds Pakistan’s pride, especially after the most recent FATF sanctions. Moreover, these regional conferences bolster bilateral ties; not participating in them effectively showcases self-interest and not a shared responsibility.
This Dialogue should be used by India not merely to strike a posture but also to give genuine achievable measures of help, demonstrating that it is a stabilizing influence in Afghanistan. If prior meetings provide any indication, anticipate much rhetoric about the US and its allies ‘irresponsibility,’ which should not concern Delhi. The fundamental lesson should be that the Taliban’s success does not imply India’s loss, as Pakistan would have us believe.