THE constant change of guard in Afghanistan in the last four decades has made the Government-to-Government relations a precarious exercise, vulnerable to alienation by one or the other regime. Therefore, India’s humanitarian diplomacy has given it space to engage with the masses of the Afghanistan, initially limited to the northern Afghanistan, however in last couple of decades to the other major power centres, including southern Afghanistan.
India has been able to embed its pro-people assistance programmes and economic assistance policy in the larger traditional official diplomacy tools, and over the years the two appear to be part of one broad Indian foreign policy approach.
In the Union Budget 2023-24, India has allocated Rs 200 crore to the Ministry of External Affairs for expenditure on grants and loans to Afghanistan. The amount remains unchanged from the last year, and shows India’s willingness to continue with its policy.
Distribution questions
At the same time, India knows there is limitation to the humanitarian diplomacy in a country where the regime has subdued the democratic ethos of the masses and has a very centralised form of governance.
In Afghanistan, where the Taliban regime decides the employment of the aid and assistance, and masses are largely cut off from the process of the decision-making and distribution; there are, in all probability, questions on the resource distribution and efficient management of the aid and assistance. Consequentially, there are low or little political returns to the assistance provided by the India when the outcome is severely manipulated.
Secondly, soft-power diplomacy can be a complimentary element of the foreign policy and can’t be sole driver of India’s outreach to Afghanistan, if India wants to secure its strategic and security interests. Therefore, sooner or later India will have to take a more accommodative position and provide little wriggle room to the Afghan Taliban regime. The first step could be re-opening of the Indian embassy in Afghanistan, which could lead to some on ground constructive talks.
Monitoring team
A welcome move in this direction has been the deployment of a technical team in Indian Embassy in Kabul to closely monitor and coordinate the efforts of various stakeholders for the effective delivery of humanitarian assistance and in continuation of engagement with the Afghan people. Similarly, a multi-member Indian team led by MEA Joint Secretary JP Singh met senior members of the Taliban in Kabul last in June 2022.
Similarly, Taliban’s Head of Political Office Suhail Shaheen had last year urged for Indian investment in Afghanistan, and to help build and sustain infrastructure projects in the country. However, progress appears to have been stalled since last years, as India is more and more relying upon the humanitarian aspects of its engagement in Afghanistan.
Shared priorities
In the recently concluded SCO summit, Indian Prime Minister shared the concerns of the other member states, when he stated that the wellbeing of the people of Afghanistan should be the shared concern of every SCO members. He further said humanitarian assistance to Afghan citizens; the formation of an inclusive government; the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking; and ensuring the rights of women, children, and minorities are our shared priorities.
However, India can think of achieving these benign and ideal objectives only when it starts engaging with the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
