cover image: With Trump, Taliban Gets A Familiar Face In Washington

With Trump, Taliban Gets A Familiar Face In Washington

9 Nov 2024

Republican candidate Donald Trump has clocked a significant victory in the US elections, setting up his mandate to drive into power by January. Hours after his victory was clear, the Taliban-led interim government in Kabul released a carefully worded statement online that reflected its attempts to formalise its diplomatic presence on the regional and global stage, and, by extension, market its political reality as the sole source of power and governance in Kabul. The biggest goal for the Taliban right now is to achieve international legitimacy. To some extent, it has managed to do so. While the drama of the US elections was still unfolding, Indian officials were already in Kabul to continue what is a contested, difficult, yet critical engagement with the Taliban. This visit included a first meeting with the acting defence minister of the Islamic Emirate, Mullah Yaqoob, who is also Taliban founder Mullah Omar's eldest son. India has a strong history of people-to-people ties with Afghanistan and maintenance of the same remains a top priority despite initial hiccups over visa allocations and allowing access to Afghans after 2021. A Complex Statement The Taliban's statement stopped short of congratulating Trump on his victory (ideologically, as per their interpretation of Sharia, democracy is not recognised by the group), but it did express hope that a pragmatic approach would be taken towards Afghanistan. It further reminded the world about the success of the Doha agreement between the Taliban and the Trump administration which had ended a two-decade-long war. Interestingly, in the statement's finale, the Taliban expressed hope that the Trump administration would work to end the wars in Gaza and Lebanon. Like many in the region, the Taliban has also taken a strong stance against Israel, putting its weight behind the Palestinian cause but without expressing overt support for either Hamas or Hezbollah, both of which have been designated as terror groups in multiple countries since the mid-1990s.
india afghanistan west asia international affairs neighbourhood usa and canada doha agreement gaza conflict trump victory iran relations bagram airfield anti-taliban india-taliban ties international legitimacy kabul diplomacy taliban government afghanistan conflict

Authors

Kabir Taneja

Pages
6
Published in
India

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