Preparing for Post-American Afghanistan

The strategy that New Delhi must follow must therefore be threefold. First, it must form a contact group with like-minded countries like Iran and Russia and ensure that the Taliban faces significant resistance in any plan to take over Afghanistan by force. Second, if Afghanistan's civilian government were to crumble, the scourge of terrorism plaguing Pakistan would intensify. Groups such as the Haqqani network that straddle the Durand Line may then train their guns on Islamabad, linking up with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. As Pakistanis won't want to live under Taliban rule — neither would it be possible to simply blame the American bogey for their travails as the US would have left the region — this would provide New Delhi with a window of opportunity to engage Islamabad.