Is the Taliban gaining influence while remaining unrecognised? | Sushant Sareen

The Neighbourhood Scop | Taliban and the World: A Global Reckoning | The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will complete four years in power this year. Since their return to the helm in Kabul, the Taliban-led regime has been actively engaging with countries, both in the region and beyond. While no country has granted de jure recognition to the group, most of them have de facto engagement with the emirate, with talks and discussions on security, trade and connectivity. India has also increased its engagement with the emirate with India’s External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar having a telephone conversation with the emirate’s interim foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, a few days after the conclusion of Operation Sindoor. In the days that followed, Muttaqi and his counterpart from Pakistan travelled to China for an informal foreign ministers’ meeting. Pakistan and Afghanistan subsequently decided to elevate their ties to the ambassadorial level.

Four years into power, how is the world responding to the Taliban? How are regional powers - including Central Asian Republics, Russia, Iran, and China interacting with Afghanistan? What do the recent improvement in ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan mean for the region and for India’s engagement with the Emirate? How is the Taliban leveraging its economy, geography , and security in its bilateral and regional engagements? Can the Taliban finally seek international recognition?

This event is part of the series “The Neighbourhood Scope,” a monthly feature of the
Strategic Studies Programme that intends to rekindle key conversations, questions, and
debates concerning India’s neighbourhood.

Speakers: 
Elizabeth Threlkeld, Senior Fellow and Director, Stimson Center, USA
Sulaiman Bin Shah , Founder and CEO of Catalysts.Af; Former Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, Afghanistan
Raghav Sharma, Professor and Director, Centre for Afghanistan Studies, O.P Jindal Global University, India
Shivam Shekhawat, Junior Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, India

Moderator:
Sushant Sareen, Senior Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, India

#TalibanAfghanistan #GlobalReckoning #IndiaAfghanistanTies #AfghanistanDiplomacy #SushantSareen #RegionalGeopolitics #AfghanRecognition #ORFIndia #StrategicStudies

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