The Taliban are getting closer to India’s doorsteps, but India does not have a blueprint to fight it.
The Taliban are getting closer to India’s doorsteps, but India does not have a blueprint to fight it.
In an interview to Fareed Zakaria in GPS (Global Public Square), an hour-long foreign policy programme he conducts for CNN on Sundays, United States special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke spoke of the Taliban’s danger.
“You cannot deal with these people by giving away territory. They are getting closer and closer to Islamabad and Punjab,” Holbrooke told Zakaria.
Holbrooke’s assertions rang alarm bells in India, as the Taliban entering Punjab means that they are that much closer to the Indian border. Has the government given thought to the creeping Talibanization of Pakistan and the danger of these forces spilling into India? It may have given thought to the Talibanization of Pakistan, but clearly it does not have a blueprint to fight it.
New Delhi, which monitors events in Pakistan very carefully, is not surprised by the developments. “We don’t need a Richard Holbrooke to tell us this. We have been talking about this much before the Americans,’’ said a senior official.
“What was Lal Masjid all about?’’ the official said. “It was nothing but the Pakistan Taliban spreading its wings in the heart of Islamabad. The Taliban is not just creeping towards Islamabad, it is already there. The terror attacks, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto… all point to their presence,’’ he added.
What can India do to protect itself from a similar onslaught by the Taliban? “We are doing all it takes by crying ourselves hoarse on the danger to the international community. We are guarding our borders and our forces are sensitised to the danger,’’ he explained.
Indian officials may go blue in the face, asserting that the government has a well thought-out policy to protect India from the threat of Taliban forces coming nearer our border, but the simple fact is there is no policy blueprint.
The government has probably not given much thought to this. Otherwise, it will be much more involved in President Obama’s new AfPak policy. India has much to contribute as it understands Pakistan better than the Americans. But New Delhi has been shy of airing its views in public for fear of hurting US sensibilities.
“We must engage with the US. We need to be pro-active. We need to engage with Pakistan’s political leaders like Nawaz Sharif, talk to him, and ensure that he also takes a public stand against the Taliban. The situation in Pakistan is complex, with varying interest groups involved. India must not play a weak hand,’’ said analyst C Uday Bhaskar.
“India has to have a dynamic approach to the situation in Pakistan. The approach should not be ideological, but based on real politik,’’ said former diplomat KC Singh.
Like Bhaskar, Singh said that India must play a more important role in the region and ensure that the situation in Pakistan does not go out of hand because this country will suffer more than the US or Europe if the Taliban is unchecked.
India, he said, must know what it brings to the table in the AfPak policy that is taking shape. But former ambassador to Washington Naresh Chandra said, “India does not have the clout or wherewithal to influence US policy in Pakistan. Let us not fool ourselves. But we can put our own house in order, strengthen our forces to deal with the Taliban and terror attacks, minimize infiltration. Delhi can do little about developments in Pakistan.”
“Interference from India will have a violent and opposite effect,’’ said Chandra.
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