New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's words are turning prophetic.
Dished out as a local alert for local criminals in Afghanistan, it was meant to be a global alert that the Taliban remains the same oldie of the 1990s frame!
It was also a warning to neighbouring Pakistan that Islamabad can be disowned and snubbed at their whims and fancies. Rawalpindi and their handpicked political appointees should all know their limitations.
Four bodies of allegedly 'suspected kidnappers' were displayed in different parts of Herat city. One of them even hung from a crane.
This is the neo-normal in neo-Afghanistan, irrespective of whatever 'incentives' are promised and sought after by a self-appointed leader of the Taliban regime, called Imran Khan.
"I saw they had brought a body in a pick-up truck, then they hung it up on a crane," one Herat shopkeeper was quoted by a news agency.
Miles away, Joe Biden has screamed 'America is back' – well, that could be disputed and debated, but the Taliban is certainly 'back'. Right there.
"Taliban don't seem to be in the mood to listen to anyone, including Pakistan, long seen by the international community as a benefactor and protector of the Afghan militant group with extraordinary influence over it. The reality was evident when a senior Taliban leader in an address whose clips were shared on social media responded harshly to Prime Minister Imran Khan's call for an inclusive government in Kabul," writes senior journalist Abbas Nasir for the daily 'Dawn'.
Virtually, the writing is on the wall. The gory days of the late 1990s, which included public stoning and limb amputation of alleged criminals, are not far off.
Of course, ever since the Taliban takeover on August 15, the rest of the world, along with Pakistan, has been watching to see whether the 'harsh rules' will be recreated. Islamabad and its leadership have taken a self-appointed role and are trying to drive home a point that the 'reborn Taliban' is nothing like what the world witnessed in 1996 and beyond until 2001 when they were bombarded and ejected by the US-led NATO forces.
In this context, experts say, Pakistan may be advocating global engagement with the neo-Taliban, but in the process, Imran Khan does not realise that he is also sort of giving an undertaking that the "current government" in Kabul – as he puts it – will behave.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has warned Pakistan in his address to the 76th session of the UNGA on Sunday that – "With Regressive Thinking, countries that are using terrorism as a political tool have to understand that terrorism is an equally big threat to them."
Mr Modi thus underlined: "It is very important to ensure that the soil of Afghanistan is not used for spreading terrorism and terrorist attacks."
