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Asylum-seekers in New Delhi’s “Little Kabul” neighborhood say they are struggling to make a living in India, where they feel trapped as long as the Taliban remain in power their Afghan homeland. Growing international acceptance that the rest of the world must come to terms with the fundamentalist regime in Kabul is not making their lives any easier. Henry Wilkins reports from New Delhi.
Content TypePackage
LanguageEnglish
Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: INDIA REGIONAL AFGHANISTAN RELATIONS
HEADLINE: Regional Countries Edge Toward Closer Ties with Taliban
TEASER: Diplomats from Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey met in Kabul to discuss cooperation as a new report says engagement is necessary
PUBLISHED AT: 02/06/2024 at 10:45AM
BYLINE: Henry Wilkins
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: New Delhi
VIDEOGRAPHER: Henry Wilkins
VIDEO EDITOR: Henry Wilkins
ASSIGNING EDITOR: David Jones
SCRIPT EDITORS: DJones, Mia Bush
VIDEO SOURCE: VOA
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 3:20
VID APPROVED BY: pcd
TYPE: TVRPKG
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRO))
[[Asylum-seekers in New Delhi’s “Little Kabul” neighborhood say they are struggling to make a living in India, where they feel trapped as long as the Taliban remain in power their Afghan homeland. Growing international acceptance that the rest of the world must come to terms with the fundamentalist regime in Kabul is not making their lives any easier. Henry Wilkins reports from New Delhi.]]
((NARRATOR))
In New Delhi, the residents of “Little Kabul,” a neighborhood at the heart of India’s Afghan asylum-seeker community, are feeling the effects of the Taliban’s shifting relationships with its regional neighbors.
Until late 2023, Afghanistan’s embassy in Delhi had been run by staff from the old democratic regime, but after all the diplomats working there claimed asylum in other countries, Taliban staff took over. Now the asylum-seekers have no choice but to engage with the regime they fled to renew their passports.
((For radio: Muhammad Saleem, one of the residents, told VOA…))
((Muhammad Saleem, Afghan Asylum-Seeker (in Dari, 12 secs)))
“Because if you don’t have a passport, you don’t have an identity document. There’ll be many problems. Without a passport, the police can deport you.”
((NARRATOR))
He said that since the Taliban took over the embassy, they have been charging more for consulate services, too.
India is not the only country where Taliban diplomats are gaining a foothold in spite of the international community’s refusal to grant formal recognition to their government. In late January, China received the credentials of the Taliban’s envoy in Beijing, making it the first major nation to give tacit recognition to the group.
Also in late January, a Taliban-organized meeting in Kabul on regional cooperation was attended by diplomats from Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey, among others, and a new report by the International Crisis Group says Afghanistan’s regional neighbors must engage with the Taliban.
((For radio: Graeme Smith is one of the authors of the report))
((Graeme Smith, International Crisis Group (in English, 15 secs))) ((Mandatory cg: Zoom))
“Regional countries don’t have an option of disengaging. Everything that happens in Afghanistan affects them intimately, so both on trade and on security, it’s
absolutely vital that the region cooperate with the Taliban, as difficult as that is.”
((NARRATOR))
Outside the region, Western countries have implemented sanctions on the Taliban and Afghanistan remains locked out of the international banking system, in
part due to the Taliban’s appalling record on women’s rights and human rights, more generally.
For regional democratic countries like India, which funded Kabul’s now-unused parliament building before the Taliban returned to power in 2021, partnership
with the Taliban is uncomfortable, say analysts, but there are gains to be made.
((For radio: Muneeb Ahmed is with Jamia Millia Islamia Univeristy in New Delhi))
((Muneeb Ahmed, Jamia Millia Islamia University (in English, 16 secs))) ((Mandatory cg: Zoom))
“India wants to reach out to Central Asian countries for resources, for oil. It does not want the Taliban to make Afghanistan as a ground for terrorist groups, which would later come to target New Delhi.”
((Graeme Smith, International Crisis Group (in English, 13 secs))) ((Mandatory cg: Zoom))
“There’s a fast-approaching, medium-term horizon where everybody knows that Afghanistan is tremendously rich with mineral deposits, and everybody knows that
the economic future of the region is connectivity.”
((NARRATOR))
But for some residents of “Little Kabul,” the idea of reconnecting with Afghanistan remains unthinkable, even though life in Delhi is hard.
Ahmed Parwiz worked as a sports coach before he fled Afghanistan.
((Ahmed Parwiz, Afghan Asylum-Seeker (in English, 14 secs)))
“We all have problems because we don’t have jobs. We don’t have money for food, for home, rent. We are in deep depression in this situation.”
((NARRATOR))
He says he was regularly threatened by the Taliban for not growing a beard and cannot return.
((Henry Wilkins, VOA News, New Delhi))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
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NetworkVOA
Embargo DateFebruary 6, 2024 10:43 EST
BylineHenry Wilkins
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English, US Agency for Global Media
