Best of BS Opinion: Fresh Covid worries, India's Afghan crisis, and more

Here are the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for Thursday

Foreign Minister S Jaishankar’s back-to-back meetings on Afghanistan on the side-lines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation take place this week against the backdrop of a crisis for India created by an inchoate policy towards the country’s north-western neighbour. An ill-judged initial refusal to engage formally with the Taliban, the failure to build a viable politico-military opposition in anticipation of the US departure and a reliance on soft power has, in effect, delivered Afghanistan to Pakistan and its powerful sponsor China, argues our editorial.

It is revealing that key regional players like China, Iran and Russia have all engaged with the