INDEX
REFERENCE WITH UPSC-CSE SYLLABUS
WHY IN NEWS
BACKGROUND
TIMELINE OF EVENTS
ABOUT TALIBAN
KEY POINTS
AGREEMENT BETWEEN USA AND TALIBAN
ARGUMENT IN FAVOUR
ARGUMENT AGAINST
CHALLENGES
INDIA’s STAND
POSSIBLE OUTCOME DUE TO THE ONGOING TENSION.
CONCLUSION
EXPECTED PRELIMS QUESTIONS
PREVIOUS YEARS MAINS QUESTIONS
REFERENCE WITH UPSC-CSE SYLLABUS
- General Studies-II
- India and its Neighborhood- Relations.
- Bilateral, Regional, and Global Groupings and Agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
WHY IN NEWS
- After the 20-year-long war, effectively ending their military operations in the country the USA troops departed from the biggest airbase in Afghanistan.
- As the insurgents fought for control of a string of besieged cities across the country the Taliban claimed responsibility for a huge bomb attack in Kabul targeting the Defence Minister.
BACKGROUND
- Terrorist attacks in America killed nearly 3,000 people on 11th September 2001. (9/11)
- Osama Bin Laden, the head of Islamist terror group al-Qaeda was the mastermind behind this.
- At that time, the Taliban, radical Islamists who ran Afghanistan protected Bin Laden and refused to hand him over.
- Operation Enduring Freedom was launched a month after 9/11 and the USA attack Afghanistan
- The NATO coalition troops declared war on Afghanistan after the attacks
- A transitional government in Afghanistan was established by the USA after dislodged the Taliban regime.
TIMELINE OF EVENTS
- The first-ever meeting between the Taliban and the Afghan government that was hosted by Pakistan in Murree in 2015 for that USA administration had sent a representative.
- But the Murree talks did not progress.
- The Kabul government did not recognize the Taliban, so the Taliban says they will hold direct talks only with the USA, not the Kabul government. Before the Doha talks started they made it very clear.
- The USA accepted their demand and held direct talks with the Taliban.
- Doha Talk-With a mandate to directly negotiate with the Taliban USA appointed a special envoy for Afghanistan.
- In February 2020 an agreement between the USA and the insurgents was made after they held talks with Taliban representatives in Doha.
ABOUT TALIBAN
- The word Taliban means students in the Pashto language.
- Following the removal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan the Taliban emerged in the early 1990s in northern Pakistan.
- First appeared in religious seminaries mostly paid for by Saudi Arabia it was a predominantly Pashtun movement.
- In Afghan politics, it is a Sunni fundamentalist organization.
- They are involved in an insurgency against the currently elected government in Afghanistan.
- The Taliban were in control of almost 90 percent of Afghanistan by 1998.
- They wanted strict implementation of the Sharia or Islamic law in Afghanistan.
- The period saw widespread abuse of human rights, especially targeted against women.
- They refer to themselves as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
KEY POINTS
- The USA put pressure on the Afghan government to release thousands of Taliban prisoners after the agreement was signed.
- It was a key Taliban precondition for starting intra-Afghan talks so the USA put pressure on the Afghan government.
- In Doha in September 2020 Talks between Taliban representatives and the Afghan government began but the peace process did not come to any conclusion.
- The Taliban continued to attack Afghan forces even after the agreement was signed.
- The Afghan government claims Pakistan supports the Taliban so it is allowing the insurgents to overcome military pressure and carry forward with their agenda.
AGREEMENT BETWEEN USA AND TALIBAN
- USA administration promised that it would withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan by 1st May 2021.
- 11th September 2021 the deadline has been pushed.
- To reduce violence, join intra-Afghan peace talks and cut all ties with foreign terrorist groups the Taliban promised.
The focus was mainly on:
- Foreign troops
- Intra-Afghan peace talks
- Violence
- Using Afghan soil by terrorist groups such as the Islamic State (the IS which has an Afghan unit) and al-Qaeda.
ARGUMENT IN FAVOUR
- Political and security developments will follow in Afghanistan after the U.S. military withdrawal some experts believe
ARGUMENT AGAINST
- The possibility of an intensified and bloody civil war after USA withdrawal.
CHALLENGES
- The power is in favor of the Taliban after the USA withdrawal.
- They have launched a major offensive targeting the city centers and provincial capitals already.
INDIA’S STAND
- India and the Taliban made contact in Doha.
- The Taliban would play a critical role in Afghanistan in the coming years it was signals from the Indian side.
India has to be careful dealing with Taliban because:
- Investments in Afghanistan.
- Taliban and Pakistan alliance in the future can be a threat.
- If Anti-India terrorist groups get support from the Taliban, it can be a serious problem for india.
POSSIBLE OUTCOME DUE TO THE ONGOING TENSION.
- An agreement of power-sharing between Afghan government and Taliban.
- A civil war between government and Taliban.
- Taliban taking over the country.
- USA can cancel the previous agreement and re-enter Afghanistan.
CONCLUSION
- Pakistan has been the main actor in Afghanistan they are backing the Taliban.
- Pakistan is getting china to support financially and this is making the case very serious.
- The United nation has to take a stand on the situation and bring a democratic government thereby taking all the stakeholders together.
- With bombing civilians, categorizing everyone as the enemy Democracy and peace in Afghanistan looks just a dream.
- A political solution is the only way forward in Afghanistan, the civil war in Afghanistan will result in guzzling blood and dead of the innocent souls.
- Children are born and they grow up having never known peace and security.
- There are a lot of children in Afghanistan but they have never seen childhood, orphans are everywhere, struggling to survive.
EXPECTED PRELIMS QUESTIONS
Q1. Consider the following statements regarding Afghanistan:
(a) It is a landlocked country
(b) Afghanistan is member of ASEAN (The Association of Southeast Asian Nations).
Which of the following statement is correct?
(1) a only
(2) b only
(3) Both a and b
(4) Neither a nor b
SOLUTION
STATEMENT A is correct because it is a landlocked country.
STATEMENT B is incorrect because ASEAN members are Indonesia Malaysia Philippines Singapore Thailand Brunei Vietnam Laos Myanmar Cambodia
Q2. Which of the following countries share a border with Afghanistan?
(a) Russia
(b) China
(c) Pakistan
(d) Iraq
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(1) a and c only
(2) b and c only
(3) b, c and d only
(4) a and d only
SOLUTION
Afghanistan Bordering Countries:
China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
Q3. Consider the following statement Afghanistan
(a) In Afghan politics, Taliban is a Sunni fundamentalist organization.
(b) The word Taliban means students in the Pashto language.
Which of the following statement is incorrect?
(1) a only
(2) b only
(3) Both a and b
(4) Neither a nor b
SOLUTION
STATEMENT A is correct because In Afghan politics Taliban is a Sunni fundamentalist organization.
STATEMENT B is correct because the word Taliban means students in the Pashto language
PREVIOUS YEARS MAINS QUESTIONS
GENERAL STUDIES 2
Q1. The proposed withdrawal of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) from Afghanistan in 2014 is fraught with major security implications for the countries of the region. Examine in light of the fact that India is faced with a plethora of challenges and needs to safeguard its own strategic interests. (2013)
Q2. Increasing cross-border terrorist attacks in India and growing interference in the internal affairs of several member-states by Pakistan are not conducive for the future of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation). Explain with suitable examples. (2016)
Sources used:
The Hindu,The Indian Express, British Broadcasting Corporation News, Press Trust of India, Business Standard, The Economic Times