Dealing with the Taliban hand

Dealing with the Taliban hand

News:

1. The U. S. new Afghanistan policy, unveiled last year by the President Donald Trump, lies in tatters.

Important facts:

2. President Trump blamed Pakistan for protecting terrorist and later cut off security assistance to Taliban’s greatest benefactor and backers.

3. The new American move comes at a time when the Taliban ranks have swelled since the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation pulled out in 2014.

4. It comes at a time where the data and assessment on the strength and combat capabilities of the Afghan military and police are no longer readily available.

5. It comes when the UN grimly noted last year- rising opium production.

6. The latest Afghanistan opium survey figures, opium production in Afghanistan had increased by 87% to a record level of 9,000 metric tons in 2017 compared with 2016 levels.

7. The American move comes when there is pressure to limit any kind of engagement with Iran, which would have been a logistical pivot for further inroads into Afghanistan.

8. Pakistan’s aim will be to reverse all the gains; India has made at great cost over the years in Afghanistan.

9. With strategic dept in Afghanistan that Pakistan has dreamt of becoming a reality, Islamabad will have more room to incubate and move around the various anti-India groupings, including those active in Kashmir.