Connect with us
हिंदी اردو
Monday,10-August-2026
Breaking News

International News

The Afghan conundrum

Published

4 years ago

on

After a relatively silent phase on Afghan situation, which was overtaken by the global geo-political concerns after the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, it was once again on top of the agenda of regional and global powers in Moscow, last week.

At the Moscow Conference on Afghanistan, representatives and officials from more than 14 countries exchanged views on the current situation in Afghanistan. The meeting was hosted by Russia and participants discussed the political, economic and humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

The 10 countries, none of which was involved in military occupation of Afghanistan, were meeting after over a year in Moscow. The participants included representatives from India, Pakistan, Russia, China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Representatives of Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Turkey were also present.

At the start of the conference special Russian envoy Zamir Kabulov stated that we have to provide a comprehensive solution to the Afghan economic issue. To achieve this, the main responsibility lies with the collective West. Those who drove the country for 20 years to the current deplorable state, as well as shamelessly continued economically suffocating the country by holding the frozen national assets of Afghanistan, are not ready to step in, an obvious reference to the US, which was not present at the conference.

Regional views
At the conference, the MEA’s Joint Secretary J.P. Singh, who called for joint work to ensure that the “voice” of the Afghans is not lost, represented India. We all need to work together to ensure that the voice and aspiration of Afghans is not lost and reassure them that we are standing with them at this difficult time, he said.

The Chinese special envoy on Afghan affairs, Yue Xiaoyong said that the US has shamelessly seized the $7 billion assets of Afghan Central Bank and suspended all development aid, unilaterally.

The Iran special envoy for Afghanistan, Hassan Kazimi Qomi, said that there will be a meeting of the regional foreign ministers in Tehran very soon to discuss Afghanistan’s economic woes.

Right from the beginning India’s view has been that of engaging with the Taliban. Though after making an initial foray by engaging in dialogue with the leadership in Doha, before the formation of the Islamic Emirate, it acted rather slowly afterwards. Yet, it remains firm that development and reconstruction of Afghanistan should be dealt with its regional neighbours and those countries, which in the past have played a factitious role in Afghanistan politics, should be kept away from it.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Emirate has made clear that meetings in which there is no representative from Kabul are not effective. The Afghan Foreign Ministry in a statement said that, “We want to underscore that Islamic Emirate, just as it fought against the 20-year occupation posing a direct threat to the security and stability of Afghanistan and the region, as an independent government will not allow any third country to place military facilities in Afghanistan. Similarly, we strongly urge other countries to not put their land and airspace at the disposal of other countries against Afghanistan,”

It also said that the interim Taliban regime is an “accountable government” and has taken “serious steps against antagonistic groups”.

Pakistan’s criticism
However, in an unusual move, Pakistan gave a damning assessment of the Afghan Taliban regime’s 16 months in power, saying the interim government has done little to form inclusive government, protect the rights of women and eradicate terrorist groups.

Pakistan’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Sadiq Khan, called for support for Afghans. The lack of progress, he noted, means that the critical support needed by Afghanistan to deal with the humanitarian and economic crises and other challenges has faltered.

Sadiq said the progress report of the last 16 months was mixed, while some of the worst fears, including a rapidly deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, mass exodus of refugees and a prolonged period of instability and violence did not materialise, the interim Afghan government had also not made the kind of progress that the international community would ideally expected.

Despite assurances by the interim Afghan government, the rights of women and girls also appeared to have regressed, not progressed, according to the Pakistani envoy. He added that the footprint of terrorist organisations in Afghanistan, had yet to be fully eradicated.

He said that Pakistan has been the advocate of engaging with the Afghan Taliban government after the withdrawal of foreign forces. But the latest assessment suggests Islamabad is not happy with the interim government. Pakistan is increasingly frustrated over the Taliban’s lack of intent to eradicate threat posed by certain terror outfits to Pakistan.

But despite expressing strong reservations, Ambassador Sadiq made a passionate appeal for help to millions of Afghans, who he said, were in desperate need of urgent humanitarian support, including food, medicine and essential life supplies, before the advent of winter.

On top, he said, Afghanistan remained cut off from the international banking system and faces serious liquidity challenges. Billions of Afghan assets are frozen, thus deprived of being gainfully used for the benefit of the people of Afghanistan.

Though Pakistan wants to be a seen as an important and sincere player for the reconstruction of Afghanistan, yet there is a lot of bad blood between Pakistan and IEA. During the last 16 months, their forces have acted against each other on the border issue several times. Moreover, even the international comity does not seem ready to entrust Pakistan with any meaningful role in Afghanistan, which might be a replay of its earlier roles during the Soviet and American interference in the country.

In the given scenario, the Indian government should step up its diplomatic and outreach activities with the IEA and international players. India’s past role in Afghan affairs can’t be erased easily and now as the G20’s chair, India can definitely move forward in a resolute manner to start a meaningful and result-oriented outreach for Afghanistan.

Further IEA should be made a part of the consultative process of any future action on Afghanistan, as without their presence no one can guarantee the actions and provide legitimacy to any sincere intervention.

Post Views: 251
Related Tags:

International News

India, Thailand discuss enhancing collaboration on combating online scams

Published

4 minutes ago

on

August 10, 2026

By

Bangkok : India’s Ambassador to Thailand Puneet Agrawal on Monday held a meeting with Thailand’s Minister of Digital Economy and Society Chaichanok Chidchob on enhancing collaboration, combatting online scams and integrating digital ecosystems to facilitate tourists.

India, Thailand discuss enhancing collaboration on combating online scams

“Views were exchanged on enhancing collaboration under the existing bilateral agreement on digital technologies, experience sharing on combating online scams, integrating digital ecosystems to facilitate tourists, among others,” it added.

Last month, Ambassador Agrawal and Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Phipat Ratchakitprakarn met and discussed ways to strengthen strategic partnership through enhanced maritime, air, and road connectivity, deepening people-to-people ties and tourism linkages.

India and Thailand elevated the bilateral ties to Strategic Partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangkok in April last year.

On July 16, Agrawal met Urasa Mongkolnavin, Director-General (DG) of the Department of South Asian, Middle East and African Affairs at Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and held discussions on issues of mutual interest to strengthen the strategic partnership between both nations.

“Ambassador Puneet Agrawal met Mrs. Urasa Mongkolnavin, DG of the Department of South Asian, Middle East and African Affairs, Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Both sides exchanged views on various issues of mutual interest such as high-level visits, trade and investment, people-to-people connect, public health and traditional medicine, etc to further strengthen the Strategic Partnership between India and Thailand.”

Agrawal also met Thailand Trade Representative Chutintorn Gongsakdi at the Government House, with discussions focused on further strengthening trade and investment ties.

“Ambassador Puneet Agrawal had a cordial and fruitful meeting with H.E Mr. Chutintorn Gongsakdi, Thailand Trade Representative, at the Government House. Discussions focused on further strengthening trade and investment ties between India and Thailand through identifying areas of complementarities, resolving tariff and non-tariff barriers and having a balanced trade for mutual benefit,” the Indian Embassy in Thailand wrote on X.

Post Views: 57,674
Continue Reading

International News

Iran says Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until US continues naval blockade

Published

2 hours ago

on

August 10, 2026

By

Tehran, Aug 10: Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said on Monday that the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until the US continues its naval blockade against Iran, local media reported.

Addressing a weekly press briefing in Tehran, Baqaei said that the Strait of Hormuz was closed due to the US and Israeli military aggression against Iran. He emphasised that the reopening of the waterway relies on the conditions enforced on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz by the US and Israeli authorities, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported.

“As long as the US naval blockade continues, the necessary conditions for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz do not exist,” said Baqaei. He stressed that the US needs to stop and make changes in its “destructive actions” so that the two sides could discuss the next steps.

The Strait of Hormuz links Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. It is one of the world’s most important energy corridors, carrying oil and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) exports from major Gulf producers to international markets.

Baqaei mentioned that the talks between Iran and Oman over a shipping route is a bilateral matter which involves two nations.

On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Aragchi stated that there are currently no ongoing negotiations with the United States.

Speaking to reporters at the Centre for Political and International Studies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he said, “We currently have no negotiations with the United States. Intermediaries are still making efforts to find ways to resume negotiations. From our perspective, there can be no resumption of talks until the United States ends its violations of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and makes amends for the breaches it has committed,” Tasnim News Agency reported.

He stated that there is no possibility of resuming negotiations until the US ends the violations of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) or it makes amends for what it has violated. He also said that they are in the final stage of negotiations with Oman about determining a new sea route in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Iranian Foreign Minister stressed that reaching a pact with Oman on a new maritime route does not imply that the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened.

“Of course, this does not mean the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. This agreement may be reached, but the opening of the Strait of Hormuz is subject to a series of conditions,” he said.

Post Views: 50,476
Continue Reading

International News

Pakistan considers Balochistan security’s issue, ignores economic and political aspects: Report

Published

1 day ago

on

August 9, 2026

By

Islamabad, Aug 9: Poor governance is the primary reason behind instability and deprivation in Pakistan’s Balochistan province as the Federal government regards the province as a security issue and does not address the social, economic, and political causes of the crisis there, a report said.

People of Balochistan do not get benefits despite the province being resource-rich, according to the report in Afghan Diaspora Network.

The majority of development projects in Balochistan, including the strategic Gwadar port and the Saindak copper and gold mine, have been operated by China. Chinese or people from Pakistan’s Punjab and Sindh provinces earn profits from Balochistan’s resources instead of people from the province. The have-nots of Balochistan often take up militancy to fight for their rights and express their anger towards the foreigners in Balochistan, it said.

The majority of people in Balochistan live in extreme deprivation of resources, human rights and education, though Pakistan denies that people of the province are discontented. Its approach towards Balochistan has been security-centric while the development and governance agenda have taken the backseat. Currently, Balochistan faces the highest poverty in Pakistan, with 47 per cent of residents living below the poverty line. The province does not have basic infrastructure, employment opportunities, gas connections, and clean drinking water despite being a hub for extraction and mega projects, according to the Afghan Diaspora Network report.

“Experts blame the poor governance as a main culprit behind instability and deprivation. Quick to resort to repression, the state has considered Balochistan unidimensional as a security issue, ignoring the underlying social, economic, and political causes of the crisis. The ongoing ‘Operation Shaban’ might hit the headlines for killing terrorists, but it fails to ensure any sustainable peace and stability. The experts argue that the military cannot lead to durable peace without addressing the root causes of multiple causes of Balochistan’s unrest, including federalism, identity, and the fair distribution of resource wealth,” Kadeem Baloch, a freelance journalist based in Pakistan, wrote in the report.

On Saturday, the Baloch Republican Guards (BRG) claimed responsibility for destroying two electricity towers in the province’s Nasirabad, local media reported.

BRG spokesperson Dosteen Baloch said in a statement that the members of BRG blew up two 220 kV electricity towers going from the Och Power Plant to Punjab at the Piru Pul area near Mir Hassan area of Nasirabad, The Balochistan Post reported.

Two towers collapsed, and two more sustained severe damage as a result of the explosion. The spokesperson stated that BRG accepts responsibility for this attack and noted that such operations will continue until the independence of Balochistan from Pakistan.

Post Views: 65,089
Continue Reading

Trending