Editor in Chief Note
Taliban politics and the impact on Kashmir’s terror ecosystem shall be visible in the coming months. It is essential for India’s policy planners to stay ahead of the curve. As the Taliban gain the upper hand in Afghanistan, there are apprehensions that the anti-state actors in Kashmir may get emboldened. The relationship between Pakistan and the Taliban is clear and present danger for India.
China calls Pakistan its “iron brother”. The iron brother simile is euphemistic. Pakistan is inching towards becoming a China colony.
China is antagonistic to India’s rise. Pakistan is failing internally, but its malevolence towards India continues unabated. Kashmir is the theatre for Pakistan’s shenanigans. We may have to watch the rise of a consolidated front comprising China, Pakistan and the Taliban. This shall impact India, and the fallout may be seen in Kashmir.
On the emerging scenario in Afghanistan, US President Joe Biden seems reluctant to call a spade a spade. “The mission was accomplished in that we got Osama bin Laden and terrorism is not emanating from that part of the world,” President Biden said earlier this month. The first part of the sentence is correct. But global geo-strategic security concerns may make President Biden revisit the second part of his statement. Pakistan is the hotbed for emerging terror networks. The Taliban are a force multiplier for Pakistan.
Gen. Austin Miller, top American military commander in Afghanistan, recently said the country could slide into a chaotic civil war and face “very hard times.” If Afghanistan remains engaged with its own internal dynamics, it may stem Pakistan’s malevolence in Kashmir. Either way, India has to stay on guard.
