It had been a tactical move on New Delhi’s part to invite the leaders of all five nations to be co-chief guests at the Republic Day parade, as the five ‘Stans’ are considered very crucial to an energy-hungry India. But, in the wake of the surge in Covid infections, India cancelled the plan and has decided to have a virtual meet instead.
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Shalini Chawla
Distinguished fellow, Centre for Air Power Studies
Twenty years of the unfinished Afghan war have seen frequent phases of despair, occasional optimism and development of a civil society which started to ascertain its political and civil rights, the inspiring voices of the liberated Afghan women, and on the other hand, expanding Taliban influence, its growing legitimacy with the major regional powers and the group’s deepening confidence in its ability to dominate Afghanistan and run it on its ideological terms and conditions. Ironically, all the major regional powers and the United States have had channels of communication open with the Taliban, except the Afghan government. As the timeline for the complete US withdrawal from Afghanistan is approaching, there are serious concerns and apprehensions regarding the future of Afghanistan as the developments on ground are indicative of nothing less than the probability of a civil war, unless there is rethinking an