US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump made his first direct contact with the Taliban on March 3 as he spoke by telephone to Abdul Ghani Baradar, who heads its political office. The warm conversation between the erstwhile antagonists was a wake-up call for India. The US wants to get out of Afghanistan fast and the Taliban is now firmly in the saddle. Once again, it is advantage Pakistan.
“The Taliban is beholden to Pakistan as it operates out of Quetta and Peshawar,'' said Tilak Devasher, former special secretary, cabinet secretariat and member, National Security Advisory Board. The Doha agreement signed by the US and the Taliban on February 29 brought calm for barely 24 hours. The Taliban launched attacks across Afghanistan after President Ashraf Ghani refused its demand to release 5,000 militants before the start of formal peace talks among Afghan groups. Trump's phone call was aimed at stopping the violence. After the call, he said the Taliban would be killing “some very bad people”.
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