In Kabul, India takes a soft step

A toehold has been established. But as threats of instability rise, India must be cautious, alert

When Kabul fell to the rampaging Taliban force last year, India faced a difficult choice. It could not be seen as lending legitimacy to the autocratic and oppressive regime and there was little option other than to evacuate its officials to safeguard them from almost guaranteed attacks. Still, in the aftermath of an earthquake in Afghanistan earlier this year, India quietly moved to establish a small diplomatic presence in the restive country while continuing to help its citizens with humanitarian efforts. A report in this newspaper on Sunday indicated that this cautious strategy might be yielding dividends and allowing India to gain a toehold in what remains a restive and volatile, but strategically important, country. As the report indicated, India’s presence in Afghanistan remains a sensitive issue, with a majority of the “technical team” deployed in Kabul being security personnel sent in to guard middle-ranking diplomats who are largely focused on ways to help the Afghan people grappling with humanitarian and economic crises. Nonetheless, the Indian presence on the ground would be helping policymakers keep a close watch on the evolving political and security dynamics.

This comes at an increasingly turbulent time, especially after the resurgent Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan called off a fragile six-month-old ceasefire in Pakistan and threatened a wave of attacks across the country. The militant outfit — emboldened by the grip of the Afghan Taliban, which had brokered the truce, on Kabul — is capable of fomenting instability in Pakistan’s tribal districts along the border.

Moreover, the diplomatic and humanitarian presence helps India foster old goodwill, interpersonal warmth and cultural ties that it shares with the people of Afghanistan, and ensures that India is not ceding ground for hostile powers to gain leverage. There continue to be considerable risks — including security threats, notwithstanding Talibani assurances of strict action against anti-India attacks — and problems of rampant human rights violations, misogyny and gender violence, uneven political control and a fluid security situation. India returned to Kabul only after a comprehensive assessment of security threats because having a presence on Afghan soil allows Delhi to better track developments. It has done well to explore a cautious path forward, but must remain alert.