Rahmatullah Nabil is an Afghan politician. He served as Head of the National Directorate of Security from 2010 to 2012.
| Photo Credit: Suhasini Haidar
Despite its engagement with the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, India should not let its guard down, mentioned former Afghanistan intelligence chief Rahmatullah Nabil, warning that Pakistani terror teams focusing on India like Jaish e Mohammad and Lashkar e Toiba have shifted bases to Afghanistan with assist from the Taliban, and have entry to extra know-how and territory.
Mr. Nabil mentioned that whereas participating the Taliban was crucial for India in its “own interests”, New Delhi ought to hold channels open with former leaders as properly, although they’re now out of energy. Mr. Nabil, who served because the Director of the National Defence Secretariat (NDS) below each President Karzai and President Ghani, had intently cooperated with India throughout his tenure (2010-2015), had famously resigned over Mr. Ghani’s go to to Pakistan, and choice to arrange hotlines between safety chiefs.
In an interview to The Hindu on the sidelines of a convention of anti-Taliban Afghan leaders with U.S. and E.U. representatives, Mr. Nabil additionally mentioned he had been denied a visa by India after the Taliban takeover of Kabul in August 2021.
“For us (officials of the previous regime), we don’t have any complaints against other countries, as we had no expectations, but we have a complaint with our friends. [After August 15 (2021), even those who were friends of India, and those who had diplomatic passports and visas, [were turned away], and visas were revoked,” he mentioned, explaining that he telephoned his former interlocutors in New Delhi to request an entry for him, his mom and household to India after the collapse of the Ghani authorities.
At the time the federal government had introduced that it was canceling all visas issued due to considerations over safety and had introduced a particular “Emergency e-visa” (Em-X-Misc e-visa) course of instead. However, officers say that of the tens of hundreds of functions that have been obtained final 12 months, e-visas have solely been issued to lower than 300 Afghans, principally Hindus and Sikhs. Mr. Nabil is amongst a variety of former officers, and ministers who mentioned they have been focused by the Taliban for his or her hyperlinks with New Delhi.
“I was in touch [just after Kabul fell]. And when I asked about travel, they simply canceled my visa. After that, I never tried to contact them, and they didn’t contact me,” he mentioned. The MEA didn’t reply to requests for a touch upon the veracity of Mr. Nabil’s declare. Officials mentioned the matter of visas for Afghan nationals is determined by the Ministry of Home Affairs, which additionally didn’t remark. Sources mentioned a “few” Afghan officers had been allowed to enter India briefly, however that many have been turned away.
No nation, together with India recognises the Taliban authorities. However, since its institution of a regime in Kabul, the Modi authorities has despatched senior MEA officers to maintain talks with Taliban leaders, and in June this 12 months, arrange a “technical mission” in Kabul to assist facilitate help and improvement help for Afghans.
“We are not in a position now to advise India, and they know their national interest better, But they should not live in any illusion, that the Taliban has changed. Even if they had good meetings and were greeted warmly by [Taliban interior minister Sirajuddin] Haqqani or other Taliban ministers, [they should know] that the anti Indian sentiment is in [Taliban’s] blood,” Mr. Nabil mentioned.
Briefing the Herat Security Dialogue on the variety of terror teams in Afghanistan together with from Al Qaeda Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Islamic State Khorasan (IS-Okay), Mr. Nabil mentioned hundreds of “foreign fighters” have been now based mostly in components of the nation like Kunar and Nuristan provinces, and have been within the “preparation phase” of staging assaults on neighbouring international locations together with India and Tajikistan, including that that they had entry to the most recent know-how, cryptocurrency, and would flip Afghanistan right into a “drug and terror hub”.
“So their bases are there, they have got Taliban protection, they have free access, they have weapons left over from US forces. They have access to biometric data,” Mr. Nabil mentioned within the interview. “Pakistani [intelligence] doesn’t need give these groups direct support anymore. The Haqqanis are doing the jobs that ISI [Pakistani intelligence] handlers were doing before,” he claimed, referring to the Haqqani group whose leaders are nonetheless on the UNSC’s terror checklist, and have been believed to be accountable for assaults on Indian missions in Afghanistan. Pakistan has denied supporting terror teams, and was just lately let off the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) greylist for its progress in tackling terror financing.
