Even as the Afghanistan government continues to talk with the Taliban, it cedes vast swathes of territory to the group—which has grown more aggressive since the US withdrawal from the country after 20 years of foreign military presence. Now, as Afghanistan is left alone to fight a resurgent Taliban, the country appears to hold out hope that India will amp up its military assistance.
"Should we not get to a stage in the peace process with the Taliban, then maybe a time (will come) where we would be seeking India's military assistance, more military assistance in the years ahead," Farid Mamundzay, Afghanistan's Ambassador to India, told NDTV.
The envoy clarified that Afghanistan was not seeking Indian soldiers to come and intervene.
"We are not seeking India's assistance with sending troops to Afghanistan. Their footprint in Afghanistan to fight our war would not be needed at this stage," he said, adding that the Afghan Air Force could benefit from Indian assistance, including in matters like pilot training—which he said India was “naturally” a place it would want involvement from.
India has also supplied Afghanistan with attack helicopters, with four Mi-24V close-air support helicopters being gifted in 2019. The Mi-24 “Hind” has special significance as it played a crucial role for the Soviet Union during their disastrous invasion of the country in 1979-1989. The helicopters, then, caused much damage to the mujahideen guerillas, who dubbed it “Shaitan-Arba" (Satan's Chariot). However, the advent of US-made stinger missiles turned the tide, resulting in several Mi-24s being shot down. Even so, the helicopter proved capable of taking a hit and surviving.
The Afghan envoy had earlier raised the prospect of introducing Indian airpower into the equation. On July 10, he was quoted as saying, "Our assessment is [that] if we have the required air support, Taliban would never be able to capture any district. And just to give you one instance, should we have 15 to 20 Mi-35 helicopters or 30 to 40 Black Hawks, they would not be able to hold ground.”
India maintains an airbase in Tajikistan, located near the border with Afghanistan. While India has used the base to supply Afghanistan, it has not maintained an active combat air unit there.
The brutality of the Taliban advance has shown no signs of abating. A video showing members of the Afghan Special Forces being executed by the Taliban after being captured was circulating, CNN reported. At least 22 commandos were executed as they tried to surrender.
The Taliban have denied the authenticity of the video. Publicly, they have encouraged soldiers to surrender. Hundreds of soldiers have fled into neighbouring Tajikistan as the Taliban take positions across the border.
Jaishankar meets Afghan counterpart ahead of key SCO meet
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday met his Afghan counterpart Mohammad Haneef Atmar in Dushanbe and discussed the situation in the war-torn country.
Jaishankar arrived in the Tajik capital on Tuesday for a two-day visit to attend the meetings of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Council of Foreign Ministers and the SCO Contact Group on Afghanistan.
"Began my Dushanbe visit by meeting with Afghan FM @MHaneefAtmar. Appreciate his update on recent developments. Looking forward to the meeting of the SCO Contact Group on Afghanistan tomorrow," Jaishankar tweeted.
The SCO contact group meeting on Afghanistan assumes significance as it comes amidst growing global concerns over Taliban fighters rapidly seizing control of a large number of areas in Afghanistan.
India has evacuated around 50 diplomats and security personnel from its consulate in Kandahar in a military aircraft in the wake of intense fighting between Afghan forces and Taliban militants.
Afghanistan has witnessed a series of terror attacks in the last few weeks as the US looked to complete the withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan by August-end, ending a nearly two-decade of its military presence in the war-ravaged country.
India has been a major stakeholder in the peace and stability of Afghanistan. It has already invested nearly $ 3 billion in aid and reconstruction activities in the country.
India has been supporting a national peace and reconciliation process which is Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled.
With inputs from PTI
