DELHI: US President Donald Trump ruling out talks with the Taliban willprobably be seen as a good sign by India which has for long publiclyarticulated that a dialogue with terrorists of any stripe is not tenable,Times of India has reported.
India will also be pleased that it now has the US on its side against agrowing closeness between Pakistan-China andlink>link>Russialink> on their willingness to talk withthe Taliban. On Afghanistan, India was being isolated by these countries,because of its across-the-board ‘no talks with terror’ stand.
India’s position has been that no interaction with the Taliban should crosswhat it calls certain ‘red lines’ – giving up violence, accepting theAfghan constitution and abiding by it and cutting off all ties with the alQaida.
India has also said that it should be up to Kabul to decide who it wants tonegotiate with, to bring peace to a nation torn by war for the last 16years. And Kabul, in turn, has almost the same conditions as India, thesame ‘red lines’ it doesn’t want to cross, to talk peace.
Last June, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said, yet again, that hisadministration’s preconditions for peace talks include the Talibanrecognising the Afghan constitution, continuity in the reforms to do witheducating and advancing the rights of women and renunciation of violenceand linkages with terrorist groups, reported the Voice of America.
Now, it appears Trump, too, cannot abide the crossing of these ‘red lines’,especially the violence. That’s why, after a string of terror attacks inKabul over the last 10 days, Trump yesterday said ‘enough’.
‘They are killing people left and right. Innocent people are being killedleft and right, bombing in the middle of children, in the middle offamilies, bombing, killing all over Afghanistan,’ said Trump, reported PTI.
‘What nobody else has been able to finish we’re going to be able to do it,’said Trump yesterday, after the horrific terror attacks in Kabul.
The US President didn’t specify what he has in mind, but he seemed tosuggest that a stronger military response is imminent.
Trump’s remarks come during a month when it was revealed by the Talibanthat they recently held talks with Pakistan,link>link>Chinalink> and Qatar, in Islamabad, onfinding a solution to the Afghan war.
Trump’s remarks also come following reports this month thatlink>link>Russialink> has offered to host direct talksbetween the government of Afghanistan and the Taliban.
None of these developments would have made India happy. New Delhi isalready battling the Pakistan-China axis; with Russia thrown in the mix, itappeared to be increasingly isolated from a role in a solution forAfghanistan.