Can you expect mercy from a crocodile, peaceful talks from a Barbarian, love from a hatred-filled soul, tranquil talks from a hate-monger and above all, wisdom from a fool?
Similarly, can you expect any sense from a terror group inflicting hatred and disruption in all four directions?
To put it succinctly, can you expect to hear words of amity or brotherhood from organisations like the Taliban? No, right? Definitely, not, isn’t it?
So when recently the dreaded Taliban came out with a positive word to say about India, there were pleasant surprises. There were some comments made in reference to India with respect to what was going on in Afghanistan, once a wartorn land, but one in complete Talibani capture at the moment.
This leads us to question- what was said actually that one must know?
Taliban, believe it or not, has said that there shall be no anti-India activities in the country and nothing of that sort would ever be tolerated by the extremist group that has a similar vision like terror establishments such as Jaish-E-Mohammad and LeT.
As a matter of fact, what might appear as slightly startling to most of us Indians is that, for the first time ever in their history did India and current Talibani regime interacted with one another discussing a way of ‘peaceful’ co-existence minus any kind of animosity.
If such a development is not ridiculously surprising then, one wonders, what is?
What will ever suffice?
That there was a concerted effort on either side to take diplomatic ties ‘forward,’ was shocking in the first place?
God only knows what might become of Afghanistan under Taliban in the course of the future, but for now, this is what we know, as excerpts from a detailed news coverage on the Hindustan Times-
Putting unfounded fears of Opposition about “diplomatic isolation of India” after Taliban takeover of Afghanistan to rest, India today discussed the safety and security of its nationals with senior Taliban leader Sher Mohammed Stanekzai at Doha and got assurance from him that the new regime will not allow its territory to be used for anti-India activities. Stanekzai is the head of Taliban political office in Doha, Qatar and a former alumnus of Indian Military Academy in the 1980s. The meeting, sanctioned by the top Taliban leadership, lasted over an hour.
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After Stanekzai publicly made overtures to India to resume trade and economic ties on August 29, the Taliban leader quietly reached out to the Indian leadership both in New Delhi and Qatar in the past two days. The Taliban leader acknowledged the positive role that India had played in Afghanistan in the past two decades. The Indian interlocutor, Ambassador to Qatar and Af-Pak expert Deepak Mittal, made it clear that India wanted the safety and security of its nationals still stuck in Afghanistan as well as those of Hindu and Sikh minority communities living in that country. Mittal also sought assurance from the Taliban that Afghanistan under the Taliban would not allow the use of its territory for anti-India activity without naming Pakistan based terrorist groups.
The above told- what’s perplexing already is the fact that while China has offered ‘assistance’ to redevelop Afghanistan, the likes of Pakistan, not exactly India’s best friend has given formal recognition of the current extremist regime sitting on the head of Taliban, having captured its heart- Kabul! What is the future going to show us?