India gives Taliban de facto legitimacy

Frontier Post

NEW DELHI (APP) - Indian External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh's decision to personally fly to Kandahar to exchange prisoners for the passengers and crew of the hijacked Indian Airlines airbus has accorded de facto legitimacy to the Taliban regime, reports Indian national daily 'The Asian Age'. Most of the senior Indian diplomats and political leaders cutting across party lines agree with this contention and this has set off speculation about India establishing formal relations with the Taliban regime. "Jaswant Singh should not have gone to Kandahar. It was a terrible mistake," said a senior politician on condition of anonymity. Diplomats point out that a foreign minister does not visit a country with which his country has no ties, even in exceptional circumstances as generated by the hijacking as the move has "immediate consequences" on bilateral relations between the two regimes.

The Taliban has followed Jaswant Singh's visit by urging India to consider diplomatic relations. Former prime minister I K Gujral went on the record to state: "Now that the foreign minister has visited Kandahar, the government has to explain their perceptions about the Taliban, and the impact of this gesture on our Afghan policy." But like others, he too, was at a loss to explain the rationale behind Jaswant Singh's decision to visit Kandahar saying: " I do not know why he was so advised." The Taliban are reported to have said that Mr Singh had requested for a meeting with their supreme leader Mullah Omar, which Mr Jaswant Singh refuted. A former diplomat pointed out that by making the visit the external affairs minister encouraged these stories and " if the government did want to avoid controversies of this nature it should have sent a junior minister in his stead if that was considered necessary." The Taliban permanent representative designate at the United Nations Abdul Hakeem Mujahid has said that there is no tension with New Delhi and the close cooperation between the two sides over the hijacking should result in diplomatic ties.

New Delhi presently recognises the ousted Opposition regime of Burhanuddin Rabbani, who is represented by his accredited envoy here. Mr Jaswant Singh has, however, taken good care not to cast even the slightest finger of suspicion at the Taliban and this has not gone unnoticed by diplomatic circles here. The external affairs minister repeatedly expressed his gratitude to the Taliban for their cooperation and hospitality. And while admitting that the hijackers got more arms after the plane had landed at Kandahar, Jaswant Singh refused to link this with the Taliban. National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra went a step further to say that the hijackers had obtained their weapons from the hold of the aircraft and not the Taliban, the paper added.