It seems some things never change. The terrorist group Taliban, which took over Afghanistan last month, is failing to live up to assurances made to the international communities. The whole world was shocked by the return of the Taliban to Afghanistan after the US decided to withdraw its forces from the country. It was expected that a new era of Taliban would begin, and that they would be more accommodating to women and minorities and form an inclusive government. The Taliban’s moves so far show a failure to meet the group’s earlier pledge of an “inclusive” government. They have announced an all-male interim government for Afghanistan, stacked with veterans of their hardline rule from the 1990s and the 20-year battle against the US-led coalition, a move that seems unlikely to win the international support the new leaders desperately need to avoid an economic meltdown.
Sirajuddin Haqqani has become Afghanistan’s interior minister, in charge of police and security. Haqqani is the leader of the Haqqani network, which is known to have links to al-Qaeda. He is on the FBI’s most wanted list and is a designated global terrorist. Drawn mostly from Afghanistan’s dominant Pashtun ethnic group, the cabinet’s lack of representation from other ethnic groups also seems certain to hobble its support from abroad. The move of the Taliban to disregard the concern of international communities has put western financial aid at risk and it does not bode well for those who wanted to see Afghanistan rid of terrorist activities. Experts warn that the global jihadi movement will feel emboldened by what they see in Afghanistan as a triumph. This is a worrying time for the world, especially India. The anti-India terrorist groups will probably use Afghanistan’s soil to train and launch attacks. India needs to work together with international communities to contain the Taliban and keep the country safe.