The meeting of the Indian Foreign Secretary with the acting Foreign Minister of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan in Dubai has given sleepless nights to the political and military leadership of Pakistan. Many top analysts have suggested that Islamabad should reconsider its aggressive stance towards Kabul.
Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Aamir Khan Muttaki in Dubai on Wednesday. Both discussed various issues related to bilateral relations as well as ‘regional developments’.
Earlier, New Delhi had strongly condemned the Pakistani air strike on Afghanistan in which 46 people, including many women and children, were killed.
After Afghanistan described India as an ‘important regional and economic partner’, the demand for a thorough review of the Afghan strategy has increased in Pakistan.
Sources told IANS that closed-door meetings are being held in Islamabad, in which top officials are deliberating deeply about the policy towards their unstable neighbour.
Strategic analyst Aamir Rana said, "This should be a warning for Pakistan. We should not forget that India was a major player in Afghanistan before the Taliban took over. New Delhi had invested about $3 billion in Afghanistan for reconstruction projects and members of the Northern Alliance also have good relations with New Delhi."
Rana said, "Indians are working carefully with the Taliban and things are really moving forward. This is happening at a time when Pakistan is aggressive against Afghanistan and our bilateral relations have declined tremendously."
The strategic analyst said, "Pakistan cannot tolerate an ‘enemy’ neighbor to its west. One view is that instead of communicating with the people in Kabul, Islamabad can raise the TTP issue with the Taliban leadership in Kandahar because the real power comes from there."
Strategic expert suggested, "In a fatwa of Taliban in 2023, it was said that the activists should be stopped from waging jihad inside Pakistan. This can be used to persuade the Afghan Taliban to expel TTP and other anti-Pakistan groups from their borders."
Let us tell you that Pakistan’s current policy towards Afghanistan is to adopt less talks and a more aggressive approach.
Rana said, "The doors of dialogue have not been closed. Pakistan can put pressure on Taliban through regional countries to take its anti-terrorism actions. If relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan deteriorate further, it will further aggravate the already volatile security situation."
Let us tell you that Afghanistan and Pakistan are face to face on the issue of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The objective of the TTP is to overthrow the Government of Pakistan by waging a terrorist campaign against the Pakistani armed forces and the state.
Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban of providing safe haven to TTP insurgents and supporting their terrorist activities. However, Kabul has been denying these allegations.
