Neighbourhood Studies
Afghanistan
AFGHANISTAN: Through the Fog of Instability

Afghanistan is a country that has seen more devastation than prosperity, especially in the last 20 years. The resurgence of the Taliban and its cat-and-mouse game with the West has brought the once lively nation on the brink of starvation and decline. And it’s not just the story of the present times. Even in the early nineteenth century—be it the three Anglo-Afghan wars, or the skirmish between Afghanistan and Pakistan surrounding the Durand Line—the nation has seen much more bloodshed than any other country in Asia.

Killing of al-Zawahiri: U.S. Counter-terrorism Operations, Future of Al Qaeda and Implications for Taliban, Pakistan, other Stakeholders and India

… al-Zawahiri’s killing could be the beginning of a new road instead of its end, depending on how the Taliban evolves from here ... Taliban is caught between devil and deep-sea ... There is enormous pressures from international community ... Will Taliban reconstruct Afghanistan or spread jihad and harbour the global Al Qaeda groups?

IPIS-VIF Dialogue on Latest Developments in Afghanistan

India and Iran share close historical and cultural links dating back to ancient times. In contemporary times, this relationship is multi-faceted and includes cooperation in political, trade-economic, security, and multiple other sectors. To assess the developments after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, the Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS) Iran organized a virtual dialogue on The Latest Development in Afghanistan in collaboration with the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) on September 7, 2021, 12:00-1330 Hrs. Dr.

VIF Panel Discussion on Unfolding Developments in Afghanistan and its Implications for the Region

The key speakers in the session were Dr. Arvind Gupta, Major ASM Shamsul Arefin (Retd.), Lt General R K Sawhney (Ret.), Ambassador Jayant Prasad, Ambassador Satish Chandra, Dr. Sreeradha Datta, Ambassador Shamsher M. Chowdhury and Ambassador M. Humayun Kabir.

VIF Virtual Talk by H.E. Rahmatullah Nabil, former head of Afghanistan’s NDS

The complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan before September 11 is turning out to be a complicated affair. Taliban is gaining a strong foothold in Afghanistan. It has not shown any seriousness in negotiations over intra-Afghan dialogue and has formulated a strategy to gain control of Kabul. Hence many questions arise about the future of Afghanistan and its people. In order to understand the current evolving situation in Afghanistan, Vivekananda International Foundation organized a virtual talk on “Situation in Afghanistan” by H.E. Mr.

Omar Sadr, Negotiating Cultural Diversity in Afghanistan. Oxon: Routledge, 2020, xiii+242 pp., INR 995, ISBN: 978-1138371057

‘Negotiating Cultural Diversity in Afghanistan’ by Omar Sadr is an account of Afghanistan's multicultural society. The book discusses the challenges that the government faces in ensuring national integration under cultural diversity. The book covers twenty-two years of modern Afghanistan history, beginning from 1992 to the era of civil war i.e. from 1992-2014, which replaced the centralisation of power, with a collapse of the state the political turmoil and demands for ethnic and cultural rights challenging the government (p. 3).

RISS-VIF Dialogue on Afghanistan

The Russian Institute for Strategic Studies (RISS), Moscow, hosted Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) at Moscow on 24-25 September 2019, for a two-day Round Table Conference (RTD) on ‘Afghanistan Crisis and the Problems of its Settlement: Prospects of Russia-India Cooperation in Afghanistan;

Women’s Rights in Afghanistan: A Long Struggle Ahead

… there is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women, no policy is more important in preventing conflict, or in achieving reconciliation after a conflict has ended .. international community must continue to provide the necessary funding and use its leverage to improve gender equality, women’s security, and their participation in public life. An isolated and neglected Afghanistan will only breed violent extremism, terrorism, and instability in the whole region …

Afghanistan Manoeuvres: Sense and Nonsense of Talking to Taliban

… every stake holder for Afghanistan’s democracy, stability and progress appreciates the severe consequences of the Taliban assuming power … also understand that even in a power sharing arrangement between the legitimate, democratic Government and the supposedly reformed and accommodative factions of the Taliban, the latter, given its fanatic instincts, would have to be kept in close observation, and guaranteed intervention if necessary … in this context, there are many nuances to the Afghanistan manoeuvres which need to be considered in the background of past, present and future ...

The Afghanistan Conundrum

… for the United States, pushing the Taliban to join peace talks with Kabul is paramount to ending its 17-year long involvement in the war. But perhaps Washington's biggest problem will be figuring out how to balance the Taliban's demand for a complete withdrawal of U.S. and allied forces … whatever happens there will be huge geopolitical implications …

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