With the Taliban under close watch for their conduct and behaviour, uncertainty is hanging over the SAARC membership of Afghanistan where the insurgent group is set to form the government. Sources told The Daily Guardian that India is against the Taliban being part of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) “if they remain unreformed” and do not mend their ways as per the expectations of the entire world community.
Sources say that India has made it clear to the Secretary General of the SAARC, Esala Weerakoon during his visit to Delhi last month. India is said to have told the Secretary General that the fate of Afghanistan’s representation in the grouping should depend on the Taliban’s future conducts. “If they continue to be barbaric like before and they do not form an inclusive government in Kabul, there should not be any consideration for them,” say sources privy to the diplomatic meetings with Weerakoon in South Block. These meetings happened amid the fast developments leading to the Taliban taking over Kabul and the fall of the Ashraf Ghani government as a result of that in the month of August.
What India is also careful about is Pakistan’s possible move to pitch for the Taliban’s representation during the SAARC meet to be held in Islamabad in future. India has raised its concern with the Secretary General over the Pakistan angle as well. If at all the meet happens at Islamabad, it will be the Imran Khan government which will be extending invites to the member nations, and PM Imran Khan’s sympathy with the Taliban is enough indication of what he will do at that point of time, says an official. He will definitely invite the Taliban representative regardless of whether the insurgent group stopped violence or not.
Meanwhile, the Taliban ruled Afghanistan’s fate also hangs in a balance as far as its membership in the United Nations is concerned. The world community is keeping the Taliban’s terror track record in mind ahead of the exercise in which the future about Kabul’s seat will be decided. This issue figured during Foreign Secretary Harshvardhan Shringla’s meeting with his US counterpart in Washington two days ago, sources told TDG. India is also keeping a close watch on how the United Nations takes a view of the Taliban’s regime before making an official statement.
The SAARC secretary general had met External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Harshvardhan Shringla and discussed the points on how to revive the platform whose members used to coordinate during the Corona pandemic. The last SAARC summit was held in Kathmandu in 2014. The next one which was scheduled to be held in Islamabad had to be postponed due to the terror strikes at Pathankot and Uri in 2016. The SAARC affairs have been hitting roadblocks due to strained relations between India and Pakistan on the issue of terrorism which Islamabad continues to support and sponsor.
What is unpredictable is the date for the next SAARC Summit in Islamabad. But Pakistan would try to start a diplomatic tussle with India over the membership issue of Afghanistan, sources say.
Afghanistan had become a SAARC member in 2007 during the regime led by President Hamid Karzai. After that, Afghanistan was given representation on many other platforms linked to the SAARC initiatives.