Watch | 'No Harm in India Talking to the Taliban': Senior Pakistani Journalist Zahid Hussain

However, the overall ability of the Afghan government to survive and fight back would depend on continued support from the United States, Hussain argues.

Happymon Jacob

Jul 05 2021

However, the overall ability of the Afghan government to survive and fight back would depend on continued support from the United States, Hussain argues.

watch no harm in india talking to the taliban senior pakistani journalist zahid hussain

In this episode, Dr Happymon Jacob speaks to senior Pakistani journalist and author Zahid Hussain about the future of Afghanistan in the aftermath of the US military's withdrawal. Hussain provides a succinct view of the hostilities already underway in different parts of Afghanistan. He also provides a measure of different possibilities ranging from a full-blown civil war to a political settlement.

Hussain was sceptical about a sweeping Taliban takeover of Afghanistan like the one in the mid-1990s. The overall ability of the Afghan government to survive and fight back would depend on continued support from the United States, he argues. Hussain also provides a nuanced picture of the Taliban today, as against its earlier more puritanical avatar. He unpacks Pakistan’s Afghan predicament in detail and provides an assessment of US-Pakistan relations going forward. As far as India’s Afghan policy is concerned, he sees no harm in India talking to the Taliban.

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