Spotlight on Taliban 2.0

The Taliban 2.0 are either too naïve in realpolitik or have an agenda of their own to keep the region on tenterhooks. The indecisiveness and impracticality through which they are conducting talks at Istanbul is unbecoming of a good neighbour, and goes on to indicate that they are more mindful of their love-lost with the militants, rather than striking a new episode of congeniality and confidence with Islamabad.

The refusal on the part of Kabul to silence the unscrupulous elements operating in Afghanistan, and a lack of understanding to rewrite a new counterterrorism strategy is at the root of the discord. It also seems the Afghan government delegation in Turkiye is not empowered to take right and spontaneous decisions, and their repeatedly going into recess to ring bells in Kabul and Kandahar has discredited the entire exercise of talking it out. There should be no two opinions that Taliban must act against the terror nexus thriving inside Afghanistan, and a credible and decisive strategy must be agreed at Istanbul. The mechanism should be based on verifiable action against terrorist groups, and the entire regional spectrum be involved as guarantors.

Reciprocal guarantees – reportedly sought by Taliban for 'taming' militants in the form of non-violation of its airspace, and restriction on any third-party use of Pakistani airspace to strike Afghanistan – are like putting the cart before the horse. That sounds their imperfection in reading the sovereignty profile of an aggrieved country, and is an attempt to amplify the excuse under which they want to hide their own inaction against the terror nexus.

Pakistan and the mediators have exhibited their extreme largesse by trying to accommodate Kabul in an attempt to strike a deal. The onus of failure of talks would, thus, rely solely on Taliban 2.0, and could be a precursor to more trouble in the region. There is no denying that the Afghan Taliban have not fulfilled the commitments – including shunting out terror elements from Afghan soil – they had made under the Doha Accord of 2020. Talks at Istanbul are just a reminder, and it is high time Kabul conceded to rationality.