The Taliban's reconquest of Afghanistan following the U.S. military's withdrawal in August 2021 generated serious strategic concerns for India. No longer would New Delhi have a friendly Afghan government in place. Nor would it benefit from having U.S. troops on the ground to serve as a bulwark against instability and terrorism, especially against groups seeking India's harm, such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). And now, India's top rivals—China and Pakistan—are trying to fill the power vacuum, with potentially significant economic and security consequences.…
The remainder of this commentary is available at asia.nikkei.com.
