NESA Center alumna Shanthie Mariet D’Souza authored a chapter titled "Regaining a Foothold in Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan: India’s Way Ahead" in the Observer Research Foundation's special report, Afghanistan Under the Taliban: Enduring Challenges, Evolving Responses, published on 4 March 2024.

The report refocuses the attention on developments in Afghanistan and provides an understanding of how the countries in the region, and the United States, view the security challenges posed by Afghanistan. Contributors explore how the responses of these countries have evolved in the past two and a half years, specifically on the question of the degree of engagement and outreach with the IEA, and economic cooperation and the incremental normalisation in ties. The articles also ponder how the situation in the country could change in the near future.

In the first chapter (pages 6-10), D’Souza highlights India’s evolving policy towards the Islamic Emirate following the fall of Kabul, from an ad-hoc approach to incremental engagement. India’s aim is to secure its strategic interests while forging a regional consensus and putting pressure on the Taliban to create a more inclusive and representative government.

Read the report

About the Author

Dr. Shanthie Mariet D’Souza is a Fulbright-Nehru Visiting Chair at the School of Public Policy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, United States and Founder and President of Mantraya. She has worked in governmental and non-governmental sectors and conducted field research in various provinces of Afghanistan for more than a decade.

About the Publisher

Observer Research Foundation (ORF) is an independent global think tank based in New Delhi, India which seeks to lead and aid policy thinking towards building a strong and prosperous India in a fair and equitable world.

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