In spite of the fact that India is yet to recognise the Taliban Regime in Afghanistan, the Deobandi Pashtun Islamic fundamentalist political movement and military organisation has said that it is ready to accept diplomats and humanitarian aid from New Delhi. The Taliban also said that they would provide the Indian officials with security. Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban spokesperson and Ambassador-designate to the UN, recently admitted that the humanitarian crisis worsened in Afghanistan, with winter just around the corner. Talking to the Indian media last week, he stressed: “We are open to receiving all diplomats and committed to providing security for their routine diplomatic functions.” Shaheen added: “Similarly, we welcome humanitarian aid in this critical time as the winter is around the corner.“

The Taliban official met the Indian media persons after holding talks with an Indian delegation in Moscow. He told the press that India offered humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan during the Moscow meeting. At the same time, both sides decided to take into account each other’s concerns and to improve bilateral “diplomatic and economic relations“.

The Government of India, which plans to organise a conference of National Security Advisers later in November (2021), would focus mainly on humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan. The Indian delegation informed the Taliban that the Narendra Modi Administration was trying to explore the possibility of delivering humanitarian aid to Afghans through the Wagah-Attari land border (with Pakistan). It may be noted that Pakistan refused to allow India to transport a large consignment of wheat (around 50,000 metric tonnes) and medical aid to Afghanistan via its border with India. The Indian officials expressed hope that the UN would help New Delhi send the humanitarian aid to Kabul.

Soon after the Taliban takeover of Kabul, India withdrew its diplomats from Afghanistan, and also ruled out official recognition for the Taliban-led Government in the war-ravaged country, saying that it was not inclusive. Although Pakistan, too, has not officially recognised the Taliban Government, the Imran Khan Administration allowed Taliban diplomats to take control of the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad.

Meanwhile, the Taliban has banned the use of foreign currency in Afghanistan. The South Asian nation has been going through an economic crisis, since the Taliban takeover. All the reserves of the Afghan Central Bank are kept in the US for security reasons. In such a situation, the common Afghan citizens were using US Dollars or Pakistani Rupees for daily transactions. However, the top Taliban Leadership imposed a ban on foreign currency on November 2. As the US conducted counter-insurgency operations in Afghanistan for two decades, the Afghan people started using US Dollars in 2001-02. The use of Pakistani Rupee has also been prevalent in the Pak-Afghan border regions for a long time. On November 2, the Taliban announced that people would get punished for using foreign currency!

Afghanistan is in dire financial straits. As most of the countries have not yet recognised the Taliban Government, the amount of foreign aid has become very limited. Furthermore, Kabul’s Foreign Exchange Reserves have also decreased significantly, as foreigners have stopped visiting the country. In this situation, the Taliban issued a fatwa to use the Afghan currency, Afghani, in order to revive the shattered National Economy. Senior Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid issued a statement in this regard, saying: “From now onwards, using foreign currency in local transactions or businesses will be considered a punishable offence.“

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das