Underneath the bland statements by officials on both sides whose discussions related bilateral ties and the situation in Afghanistan are efforts to coordinate the response to ensure they are able to rescue hundreds of their Afghan nationals and allies. which are still in Afghanistan, maintaining some equity with the new Kabul regime, which already marks an alignment with the China-Pakistan axis.
Live updates on the crisis in Afghanistan
India’s Secretary of State Harsh Vardhan Shringla met with his US counterpart, Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, and later asked Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday. to exchange notes on his preliminary approach to the Taliban 2.0 regime amid small, encouraging signs that could be a reasonable avatar of the original.
Sherman, who coordinates the U.S. response to the terrain situation and the ongoing humanitarian crisis, tweeted that he discussed “shared priorities, including coordination on Afghanistan, strengthening Indo-Pacific cooperation through the Quad and the resolution of the climate crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic, “with Shringla.
But there were no signs that the two sides were inclined to provide material support to the so-called Panjshir resistance amid reports that its principals, including ousted Vice President Amrullah Saleh, had fled to neighboring Tajikistan, where India has two bases. The lack of support for the remnants of the Northern Alliance will extinguish resistance and allow the Taliban 2.0 to establish near-complete control over Afghanistan.
While U.S. officials have suggested that Washington and its Western allies still have strong control over Kabul, including more than $ 10 billion in frozen Afghanistan assets, the new Taliban regime said Friday with bravely that China would be its main partner and expects investment from Beijing.
“China is our most important partner and represents a fundamental and extraordinary opportunity for us, because it is ready to invest and rebuild our country,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told an Italian newspaper. China has also made nice noises about the need to understand the Taliban and give it a try.
For their part, Washington and New Delhi are clinging to the straws and analysts have noted that the new Taliban regime had given a green signal for Afghanistan’s cricket commitments (men only so far) and had indicated that it would allow that women would return to work in some areas, but it would not entertain the gender mix in academia.
It was a pleasurable meeting with India’s Secretary of State @HarshShringla, Ambassador @SandhuTaranjitS, and senior ME … https://t.co/c58eHTBYiu
– Undersecretary Uzra Zeya (@UnderSecStateJ) 1630600993000
In an effort to coordinate women’s rights and civil liberties movements, Shringla also met with Undersecretary of State for Civil Security, Democracy and Human Rights Uzra Zeya. “It was a pleasurable meeting with the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of India, @HarshShringla, Ambassador @SandhuTaranjitS and senior MEA officials. The US-India relationship is defined by our shared democratic values. I look forward to continuing coordinating closely on global challenges, ”Zeya tweeted after the meeting.
But simple words hardly match the visual of the intersessional dialogue between the United States and India that preceded the meeting of foreign secretaries. It showed a good gender balance in both the U.S. and Indian delegations: six female officials, three on both sides, balancing six male interlocutors.