“Taliban coming to power in Afghanistan brings back memories of the time they last came to power in 1996,” said retired Indian diplomat Vijay K Nambiar, who had served as the Ambassador of India to Afghanistan between 1990 and 1992. Even before the Taliban seized the capital city of Kabul in 1996, the former diplomat had a Herculean task of evacuating the Indian diplomats when the Afghan Mujahideen took over Kabul, toppling the Mohammad Najibullah government in April 1996.
“We were enmeshed in an internecine quarrel between the various factions, where civilians became the victims. As the Dean of the diplomatic corps then, I remained there (Kabul) for the evacuation of diplomats and their families. There was a heightened sense of insecurity then,” he recalled.
Twenty-nine years later, as the Taliban took over Kabul on August 15, 2021, India, like other countries, had to once again engage in the same exercise of evacuating its Ambassador and other diplomats from Afghanistan. “India's decision to withdraw its envoy from Afghanistan is rational because I don’t think the Indian embassy could afford to take a chance at the moment due to security reasons,” Vijay Nambiar, who was also the former Special Advisor to former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, told TNM.
However, the diplomatic relationship with the foreign country should be maintained in other ways, like how India has a foreign mission in Pakistan, said Vijay, who joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1967. He has served as the Ambassador/High Commissioner of India in Malaysia (1993- 1996), China (1996 - 2000), Pakistan (2000- 2001) and as the permanent representative to the United Nations in New York (2002 - 2004).
After retirement, he served as Deputy National Security Adviser of India (2004 - 2006). He was then deputed by the government of India to serve in the UN as the Under Secretary-General, Special Adviser to Secretary-General Kofi Annan (2006 - 2007), then as Chef de Cabinet to Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon (2007 - 2012) and later as the advisor on Myanmar.
The former diplomat spoke to TNM on the ongoing developments in Afghanistan. Here are the excerpts from the interview:
How do you view the Taliban coming to power again in Afghanistan?
The fact that the US government made an agreement with the Taliban (the “peace deal” in February 2020), without consulting the recognised Afghan government, amounted to selling the latter. In that sense, they could not expect the government to sustain itself as the Afghan army was a creation of the US army, completely dependent on US support, including for equipment and tactical support. Most of the soldiers in various provinces gave up without a fight because they knew that the government, which is existing for namesake, would not be able to support them. So I consider the current situation as a shameful act by one of the most powerful countries in the world. As far as India is concerned, given our own experience, this will result in a setback for some of our big political and economic investments in Afghanistan.
Could you recount the evacuation in 1992 when the mujahideen took control of Kabul?
There was confusion and chaos. As the then Ambassador of India and a Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, I had worked out an arrangement with the Foreign Office of the mujahideen, that they would allow three Russian aircraft to land in Kabul airport in order to allow the repatriation of families of diplomatic staff comprising Chinese, Indonesian, Russian and other missions. At the time, the Kabul airport area was being subjected to systematic rocket attacks by then mujahideen leader, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. The understanding was that the airport would be spared from bombardment during the period between 0500 and 0900 hours, to allow the three flights to operate.
However, a little after the first flight took off, this understanding was breached and the airport was attacked. In the process, one of the Russian aircraft was struck by a rocket and its flight crew were injured. The second aircraft had to come back, amidst the bombardment, to take back the injured crew member. A large number of families, mainly Russian nationals, were left behind at the airport. They stayed on for a day and it was only the following day that a fresh aircraft from Dushanbe was able to ferry them out of Kabul.
Although most of the diplomats were evacuated, I remained behind for almost seven months. However, unlike the situation now, the transition was less chaotic then. As you have witnessed during the last few days, there was pandemonium at Kabul airport. However, in 1992, it did not involve thousands of Afghan civilian population that we are seeing today. There were some hundreds of family members of foreign diplomatic missions.
How do you compare your experience in Afghanistan (before the Taliban came to power in 1996) with the current scenario there?
The situation was a bit different in 1992 from that of the entry of the Taliban in 1996, after which there was systematic mayhem across Kabul. The Taliban, when they took control of Kabul in 1996, entered the UN compound, in violation of all diplomatic norms and dragged out late President Mohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai as well as his brother. They were not only killed but their bodies were left hanging publicly for days. This was done in such a public and brutal way and in gross violation of all norms. So it is understandable why former President Ashraf Ghani fled. He did not want to face similar treatment if he remained behind in Kabul.
The Taliban are claiming that they are going to adopt a different policy, suggesting they have changed over the last 20 years. However, it is difficult for us to imagine that the Islamic Emirate that they have announced is going to be radically different from the one they established more than 20 years ago. Of course, today, the international influence over the Taliban is going to be different vis-a-vis China, Russia and Pakistan.
What should be the guiding lights for Indian foreign policy?
India should probably wait and observe what the new government will be doing. We should see if politicians such as Hamid Karzai (former Afghan President) and Abdullah Abdullah (former Foreign Minister) come into the picture to moderate the impact of the Taliban, so that our investments in Afghanistan may be preserved.
There is general anxiety that Pakistan may use the Taliban against India. What do you think?
That is unlikely to happen. Ultimately, the Taliban is guided by the interest of Afghanistan. It is in the interest of Afghanistan to have stable relations with other countries, including India. Over the years, India was able to significantly contribute to the economy of Afghanistan. If the Taliban government has long-term interests for Afghanistan in mind, they will maintain the relationship with India. If the Taliban interfere in the internal affairs of other countries like India, then that would be extended to other countries. Besides, I don't think China and other countries would like them to use the “jihadi” arguments to interfere with other countries.
What is your view of the Taliban assurances of freedom to women?
Such assurances should be better tested on the basis of experience rather than their preaching.