One of India’s most highly regarded former foreign secretaries has said the government must immediately start a dialogue with the Taliban. Krishnan Srinivasan says a dialogue with Taliban is critical “specially at this juncture” because both need to know and understand each other’s expectations and interests.
Srinivasan says the decision to withdraw our ambassador and all our diplomats and thus effectively close the Indian mission was “a serious error” and “not a wise step”.
In a 32 minute interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, Srinivasan, who also served as Deputy Secretary General of the Commonwealth, said he has no doubt the government has the means to directly contact the Taliban.
“We have enough channels to make contact at appropriate levels with the Taliban leadership”. He specifically named Mullah Baradar, the Taliban number two, who was the United States’ principal interlocutor in the Doha talks.
However, Srinivasan added, India could also reach out to old friends such as Russia and Iran, both of whom have maintained embassies in Kabul city, to act as interlocutors. He said this would actually be a resumption of dialogue with The Taliban because he believes, from unnamed Gulf sources, that in all likelihood there was dialogue between the Indian government and Taliban in the weeks preceding the fall of Kabul.
Srinivasan said he would be “extremely surprised” if The Taliban were not willing to respond to any step India takes to start or resume a dialogue.
Srinivasan offered several reasons why he believes it’s important to start or resume a dialogue as soon as possible. “If we wait too long on events we could miss being in the front rank of countries to build a relationship with The Taliban”. He also said all the other regional countries are in contact with The Taliban and have, in fact, kept open their embassies. India should not be the odd one out. Third, as he put it, “nothing is lost by having a discussion.”
Speaking about India’s decision to withdraw its ambassador and all its diplomats and effectively shut its Kabul mission, Srinivasan said we have “inadequate information” why we evacuated but he then pointed out that just a little earlier the government had said it had no plans to ‘shut down’ the Kabul embassy.
Also read: India Should Have Kept Its Embassy in Kabul Open
Drawing on his decades of personal experiences and knowledge of Indian foreign policy, Srinivasan told The Wire that in the past “India has been operational in countries with acute danger”. He said our missions have kept open in locations where they were in range of rocket and missile attacks. We’ve also kept open when there was serious danger of civil disobedience and violence.
The embassy in Kabul, he said, was one of “our best guarded missions” thus suggesting shutting it down is prima facie inexplicable. By doing so, “we’ve lost the advantage of location”. He said it appears as if the government “placed safety of personnel ahead of the strategic advantage of being there”.
Srinivasan pointed out that all the other regional countries have functioning embassies in Kabul city and even countries who he referred to as “combatants” are still there at the airport. He said it would be much better for India to be inside Kabul rather than outside but trying to look in.
Srinivasan also pointed out the government has not said which country has been asked to look after our Kabul embassy premises or what “watch and ward” arrangements have been made.
Indians before aboarding an IAF evacuation flight from Kabul airport. Photo: Twitter/MEA
Speaking about the decision, revealed on Monday (August 23), to send a small team of defence ministry and external affairs ministry officials to be stationed at Kabul airport and seek the assistance of the United States to help evacuate Indian citizens, Srinivasan said he would not call it an admission of the earlier mistake to hurriedly withdraw all diplomats but did say “it’s a rational consequence of the decision to withdraw”. He said it was “inevitable” that India would need a presence in Kabul to evacuate its citizens.
Now, after withdrawing our diplomats and reportedly ignoring messages sent by Taliban leader Sher Mohd Stanikzai that India should not close its mission, Srinivasan believes India is likely to need Taliban “approval” before it can re-open its embassy.
Finally, Srinivasan wondered what message the Indian government has sent the Afghan people by withdrawing diplomats. He said, for 20 years India was determined to convince the Afghan people that India is Afghanistan’s best friend. “So it’s a shame that when they require all manner of assistance India’s flag is not flying in Afghanistan. It would have been of great comfort to the Afghan people”.
He said India should have stayed in Kabul “to stand by the Afghan people in their moment of difficulty.”
Watch the full interview here.
