Rebuilding a presence in Afghanistan

Having failed to build ties with the Taliban, India finds itself in a particularly difficult spot

With the Taliban’s supreme leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, preparing to announce the Islamic Emirate’s new government in Kabul, the contours of political and financial power in Afghanistan will soon become apparent. Akhundzada’s key deputy, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, will surely rank high in the new dispensation. He will be closely tailed by Sirajuddin Haqqani, commander of the Haqqani Network and Pakistan’s trusted proxy; and by Maulvi Yaqoob, son of the Taliban’s first emir (leader), Mullah Omar. But the real indicators of stability and reconciliation in Afghanistan will be the extent to which the Taliban shares power with non-Taliban groups. These