Dear Express Explained Reader, The focus of our coverage all of this week has been on Afghanistan, where an extraordinary turn of events has seen the return to power of the Taliban, the same Islamist militia that the United States spent 20 years and trillions of dollars to defeat, this time stronger and more dominant than ever before. America has been humiliated in another war overseas, no matter how it seeks to spin it, and the hollowness of its claim to global leadership exposed yet again. For India, the immediate future in Afghanistan looks very bleak. The government is focussed on pulling all Indians out of the country while American soldiers still control Kabul airport, and no one seems to know at this point how India proposes to deal with the Pakistan-sponsored militia that now rules Afghanistan. Soon after the Taliban took over Kabul and President Ashraf Ghani fled, India’s former Ambassador to Afghanistan Gautam Mukhopadhaya wrote a preliminary wrap of what explains the capitulation of the American and Afghan forces, and what options India has going forward. Nirupama Subramanian wrote two pieces answering some of the questions many of you have been asking: one on the Pakistan factor— that country’s long and intimate relationship with the Taliban, and the challenges that the victory by proxy of the ISI and the Pak army in Afghanistan presents for India — and another on the new rulers of Kabul: the principal actors in the Taliban, and what role they might come to play in the days, weeks, and months to come. Rakesh Sinha, The Indian Express executive editor who travelled to Afghanistan to cover the rise of the Taliban in 1995, their first takeover of Kabul in 1996, and their ouster in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, wrote on the ethnic tapestry of the country — and the deep fault lines within that have engendered fundamental sub-national loyalties and frequently interfered with, and militated against, the imperative of nation-building. For many years, the United States brought enormous quantities of military equipment into Afghanistan — vehicles, aircraft, arms and ammunition. A lot of what they left behind is likely to now fall into the hands of the Taliban. Even without Pakistani support, the Islamists could now be in possession of a formidable arsenal to impose their rule and sustain it against any possible opposition that might arise. Krishn Kaushik put together our understanding of what military assets the Taliban have, as well as an assessment of the revenue streams that allowed them to sustain their movement for two decades in the face of assaults by the world’s richest nation and greatest military power. Stay safe and stay aware. Keep reading The Indian Express Explained. Sincerely, Monojit (monojit.majumdar@expressindia.com) If you received this newsletter as a forward, you can subscribe to it here | Do read our Explained articles here | .png)
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