"Making the Taliban respect the border will be a top priority for Islamabad," he says.īut there is no doubt that Pakistan now has better strategic reach in Afghanistan over India but they also have bigger issues to solve.Īnd one of them is to ensure that the Tehrik-i-Taliban - the group responsible for launching attacks in Pakistan - do not get support from the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Many in India and Pakistan see the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan as Islamabad's win over India.īut experts say that is too simplistic a view and Pakistan's hold over the Taliban has been exaggerated.įormer Indian diplomat Jitendra Nath Misra told the BBC's Vikas Pandey that the Taliban did not recognise the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. This potential geopolitical realignment could "change things upside down", said Gautam Mukhopadhaya, India's former ambassador to Afghanistan and Syria. Foreign minister Wang Yi's meeting with senior Taliban leaders last month shows Beijing doesn't want to be a silent player anymore. Now China is showing an interest in playing a bigger role in Afghanistan. Pakistan shares a porous border with Afghanistan and has long been an active player in its northern neighbour's affairs. The Taliban's rout is likely to cause a significant shift in the geopolitics of South Asia, and it could be particularly testing for India, given the country's historically tense relations and border disputes with Pakistan and China - both are expected to play a crucial role in Afghanistan's future. Days after the fall of Kabul, nations are hurriedly evacuating their diplomats and citizens, leaving behind two decades of work and investments. The Taliban's blisteringly fast takeover of Afghanistan has stunned security and diplomacy experts worldwide. Mr Wallace also said this morning that he had “felt uncomfortable” about the Doha deal and “made representations to the US and others at the time”. In yesterday’s debate Mr Starmer focused on the lack of planning for the withdrawal rather than saying he had opposed it and said: “Nobody believes that Britain and our allies could have remained in Afghanistan indefinitely, or that Britain could have fought alone.”
But it should be noted he was not Labour leader then, and nor was there any debate in the Commons over the terms of the deal. We have found no evidence that Mr Starmer publicly supported last year’s deal in the period after it was announced. In fact, Keir Starmer supported it, as did all other parties in the House of Commons.” Mr Wallace said today: “I never heard from a single Labour MP when that deal was done, 18 months ago… one single criticism. Getty Images Copyright: Getty Images Ben Wallace, the UK's defence secretary, initially said Donald Trump's deal with the Taliban was "rotten" Image caption: Ben Wallace, the UK's defence secretary, initially said Donald Trump's deal with the Taliban was "rotten" Italy's minister of defence thanked the "more than 1,500 Italian soldiers who are carrying out, non-stop, an extraordinary job to ensure the transport of Afghan collaborators and their families". "In Afghanistan we are witnessing a great humanitarian tragedy and we are all doing our utmost," he said. Later two C130 planes carrying a total of 200 people lifted off from Kabul in the afternoon and evening, Italy's defence ministry said.Ĭlaudi remained in Kabul to manage the return operations on site. The first Italian evacuation flight carrying 86 people landed in Rome on Wednesday.
"We've unfortunately had to witness dramatic scenes but we have managed in conditions of absolute emergency to bring home our compatriots and some of our Afghan colleagues," Tommaso Claudi, told Ansa news agency. Reuters Copyright: Reuters The first Italian evacuation flight out of Kabul landed in Rome on Wednesday Image caption: The first Italian evacuation flight out of Kabul landed in Rome on WednesdayĪn Italian diplomat has spoken about the challenging conditions in which rescue operations are taking place at Kabul airport.