We should be very careful in legitimizing the Taliban, said former diplomat Gautam Mukhopadhyay. (File)
New Delhi:
India should keep diplomatic channels open for talks with the Taliban, but move very cautiously toward its legitimacy, former diplomat Gautam Mukhopadhyay said on Friday.
In a discussion hosted by the India Press Club, he said a “false narrative” is being constructed to project the Taliban as different from what the world saw in Afghanistan two decades ago.
“We have to talk to them. This is diplomacy … We have to be very careful in legitimizing the Taliban,” he said.
Mukhopadhyay said the capture of Afghanistan by the Taliban will have an “inspiring effect” around the world.
“Basically, it is not possible for what the Taliban have done to be maintained and contained in Afghanistan. It will have undulating effects, demonstrative effects and inspiring effects everywhere,” he said.
“All those who think they reached an agreement with the Taliban and therefore al-Qaeda will not attack them or that the Taliban will protect them from ISIS are making a serious mistake,” the former diplomat added.
Speaking at the event, another former diplomat Vivek Katju also said India should keep its diplomatic channels open for talks with the Taliban.
“We should talk to them, explore opportunities, not because they need to accept their ideology. The ideological orientations of the Taliban are completely deplorable, antithetical to everything that the Indian state represents,” he said.
Katju said India needs to closely monitor Afghanistan’s developments and work out a policy for future commitments to the neighboring country.
“The reality is that almost every Afghan is in Taliban captivity. We should have a policy for our neighbor,” he said.