TOPIC OF THE DAY:-“Taliban’s growing visibility”
After prolonged negotiations, a Taliban office opened in Doha in June 2013 to promote talks and a peace process. However, when the office started flying the Taliban flag, calling itself the political bureau of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, it angered both the U.S. and Afghan governments. The office was closed down though the Qatar authorities continue to host Taliban leaders.
Coming to power in 2014 after a bitterly contested election, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani moved to improve relations with Pakistan, even calling on then Army Chief, Gen. Raheel Sharif, at the GHQ, to push for reconciliation. Preliminary talks were held in Murree but derailed in July 2015 when Mr. Ghani asked for a supportive audio/video (instead of a written statement) by Taliban leader Mullah Omar and learnt that he had died over two years earlier.
An internal power struggle within the Taliban erupted with Mullah Akhtar Mansour emerging as the leader. Insurgency grew with the Taliban briefly taking over Kunduz and Ghormach districts and threatening Ghazni. Mr. Ghani felt betrayed and lashed out, accusing Pakistan of “waging war”.
A new initiative (Quadrilateral Coordination Group) involving the U.S., China, Pakistan and Afghanistan was launched in January 2016. After a couple of meetings, there was a roadmap; Pakistan was to use its influence to get the Taliban to the negotiating table. Hopes were dashed when the Taliban demanded exit of foreign troops, release of detainees from Guantanamo, and removal of its leaders from international blacklists. Frustrated with Pakistan’s inability to get Mullah Mansour to fall in line, the U.S. eliminated him in a drone strike in May 2016 in Balochistan. Maulvi Haibatullah was appointed as his successor.
Meanwhile, there were signs that the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan were converging under the banner of the Islamic State (IS) in Afghanistan’s northern and eastern provinces. In December 2015, Russia publicly acknowledged that it had “communication channels with the Taliban for exchange of information” and “a shared interest with the Taliban to counter the threat posed by the IS”. Clearly, it was getting back into the game. Preliminary consultations were held in 2017, at which Afghan officials (and senior Indian diplomats) were present but the Taliban declined to share the table with the Afghan government.
MEANINGS AND WORDS
1) derailed
Meaning : cause (a train or tram) to leave its tracks accidentally.
Synonyms : insane
Antonyms : assisted
Example : “a train was derailed after it collided with a herd of cattle
2) erupted
Meaning : (of a volcano) become active and eject lava, ash, and gases.
Synonyms : exploded
Antonyms : subsided
Example : “Mount Pinatubo began erupting in June”
3) betrayed
Meaning : expose (one’s country, a group, or a person) to danger by treacherously giving information to an enemy.
Synonyms : cheated
Antonyms : protected
Example : “a double agent who betrayed some 400 British and French agents to the Germans”
4) accusing
Meaning : (of an expression, gesture, or tone of voice) indicating a belief in someone’s guilt or culpability(adj).
Synonyms : accusatory
Antonyms : absolving
Example : “she stared at him with accusing eyes”
5) detainees
Meaning : a person held in custody, especially for political reasons(n).
Synonyms : captives
Antonyms : independents
Example : “all political detainees were freed in August”
6) drone
Meaning : make a continuous low humming sound.
Synonyms : sluggard
Antonyms : quiet
Example : “in the far distance a machine droned”
7) converging
Meaning : (of lines) tend to meet at a point.
Synonyms : focus
Antonyms : diverge
Example : “a pair of lines of longitude are parallel at the equator but converge toward the poles”
8) persisted
Meaning : continue in an opinion or course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition(V).
Synonyms : continued
Antonyms : abstained
Example : “the minority of drivers who persist in drinking”
9) depletion
Meaning : reduction in the number or quantity of something(n)
Synonyms : exhaustion
Antonyms : restoration
Example : “the depletion of the ozone layer”
10) reluctance
Meaning : unwillingness or disinclination to do something.
Synonyms : indisposition
Antonyms : alacrity
Example : “she sensed his reluctance to continue”
