Recently, you might have seen a program on YouTube on Shawn Ryan Show (30th Oct 20124), in which a former CIA officer, a lady officer named Sarah Adams, made a statement that India funds the Taliban and uses them to eliminate Pakistan-sponsored Kashmiri and Khalistani terrorists. Now, along with this point, she also elaborated that India primarily gives money to Mullah Dawood in the Taliban, and the second name she mentioned was Mullah Yaqoob. Mullah Yaqoob, who at the moment is the Defense Minister in the Taliban government, is also the son of Mullah Omar, the founder of the Taliban movement.

Sarah Adams

Now, the most important thing that Sarah Adams said was that the Taliban receives money. The Taliban takes this money and targets groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and Jamaat-ud-Dawa. This money, passing through the hands of the Taliban, ultimately reaches Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Baloch Liberation Army. Now, if you deconstruct all these aspects one by one, you’ll understand the situation. In today’s video, I will discuss this matter.

First of all, when we talk about the Taliban, we would recommend reading a book, named ‘Taliban’ . In this book the writer Pavneet Singh stood firm on a special point, based on research and facts, that the Taliban is not India’s enemy; in fact, the Taliban is India’s biggest ally.

Secondly, if you observe carefully, the Taliban is an entity that follows an ideological bent based on Deobandi Islam. Today, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that the Taliban is essentially Deobandi.

Deobandi Islam originated in Deoband, Uttar Pradesh, India. In 1866, a movement was formed in the city of Deoband, in the Saharanpur district of India. This movement was started in 1867 by two prominent figures, Maulana Muhammad Qasim Nanotvi and Maulana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi. These two individuals launched a religious movement called ‘Deobandi Islam.’ This movement emerged as a counter-movement because, in 1867, the British Empire was ruling India. During that time, the British were trying to divide Hinduism, Islam, and Sikhism.

The British devised an entire conspiracy based on caste to divide Hindu society and also attempted to fracture Islam. However, to counter the attempts to break Islam, Deobandi Islam emerged as a resistance movement against British rule. In Deobandi madrasas, scholars pointed out that deviations within Islam had enabled the British to degrade it.

Additionally, they emphasized that the weaknesses within Islam could not be fixed solely by modernization. They stated that these weaknesses could only be addressed if Islam was followed in its original form, as it was practiced during the time of Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century. Deobandi Islam focused on these two aspects – first, that there are flaws in Islam, but these flaws cannot be corrected just through modernization; and second, that Islam must be followed in its original form, as it was during the Prophet’s time.

This movement expanded from Deoband to Afghanistan because the largest tribe there, the Pashtuns, were extremely troubled by British rule. The British were unable to bring Afghanistan under their control, and the Pashtuns fiercely resisted the British Empire. The Pashtuns also realized that the weaknesses were within them, a fact that the Deobandi scholars also conveyed to the Pashtuns of Afghanistan. The Pashtuns embraced Deobandi Islam while continuing to follow their ‘Pashtunwali code,’ which predated Islam itself.

Now, most people in Afghanistan, particularly the Pashtuns, follow Deobandi Islam as well as their Pashtunwali code. Deobandi Islam, as practiced during the 7th century, is the most dominant religious ideology in Afghanistan.

The second significant point is that the Taliban, which follows Deobandi Islam, has never been an enemy of India. The Taliban has never taken any hostile actions against India and has always regarded India as an ally. There is no enmity between the Taliban and India, as Deobandi Islam itself originated in India.

Attempts have certainly been made to strain relations between the Taliban and India, especially by Pakistan, but the Taliban has never taken any steps against India. The Taliban has also never supported Pakistan on the Kashmir issue and has repeatedly clarified that it has no interest in fighting over Kashmir.

Thus, the relationship between the Taliban and India has always been stable. There is a significant difference between the Afghan Taliban and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), with the TTP fighting against Pakistan, not India.

Now, coming back to Sarah Adams’ claim that India funds the Taliban, it’s essential to note that there is a big difference between the TTP and the Afghan Taliban. The TTP is against Pakistan, and its primary goal is to harm Pakistan’s army and intelligence services (ISI), while the Afghan Taliban has nothing to do with this.

TTP’s operations in Pakistan are supported by organizations like the Baloch Liberation Army, which are against the Pakistani government. The TTP does not have a global agenda; its goal is to establish Sharia within Pakistan and to teach the Pakistani army a lesson.

Thus, there is no enmity between the Taliban and India, and the Taliban has always considered India a friend.

Now, coming to Sarah Adams’ claim that India funds the Taliban. This claim is entirely false. The Taliban has never been an enemy of India, and India has never funded the Taliban in any way.

In reality, Sarah Adams’ accusations may relate to Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) rather than the Afghan Taliban. There is a clear distinction between the TTP and the Afghan Taliban. The TTP has been fighting against Pakistan’s army and ISI because they betrayed Al-Qaeda and its affiliates. The TTP’s aim is to establish Sharia in Pakistan and target the Pakistani state and army.

The Pakistani army and ISI are now using their own Kashmiri terrorist groups, like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, to fight against the TTP. These groups, originally formed to spread terror in Kashmir, are now involved in fighting against the TTP as well.

Since 2006, Pakistan has been providing intelligence on Al-Qaeda to the U.S., but not on the Taliban. This intelligence-sharing led to targeted operations against Al-Qaeda by the Pakistani army, which in turn led to the formation of the TTP in 2007. The TTP was formed under Al-Qaeda’s leadership, and since then, it has intensified its fight against Pakistan.

Now that the TTP is attacking Pakistan’s army and ISI, Pakistan has started using its terrorist organizations to combat the TTP. This has led to a conflict between the TTP and groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Sarah Adams’ claim that India funds the Taliban is far from the truth. India and the Taliban have no enmity; in fact, the Taliban has always considered India a friend.

Ultimately, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which is fighting against Pakistan, has no connection with India. The relationship between the Taliban and India has always been strong, and the Taliban has never taken any hostile actions against India.

Finally, it should be clear that the Taliban was never India’s enemy, is not currently, and will never be. The real conflict lies within Pakistan, with Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, which is targeting the Pakistani state and army. This is the real game, and hopefully, after reading this article, you will understand the ongoing conflict between the Taliban, TTP, and Pakistan better.