SRINAGAR, AUG 30: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said the government is closely monitoring the ongoing situation in Afghanistan and is taking steps to ensure that anti-India forces use developments there to promote cross-border terrorism in India. Don’t take advantage
Delivering a talk on national security as part of the late Balramji Das Tandon lecture series, the Defense Minister said that development in Afghanistan posed new security challenges. He said the government was committed to ensuring the safety of Indians in Afghanistan.
“The safety of Indians is a matter of concern for the government. We also do not want the anti-India forces to take advantage of the evolving Afghan situation for cross-border terrorism.
The Indian security establishment has expressed concern over the spread of terrorism from Afghanistan to Jammu and Kashmir via Pakistan after the takeover of the Taliban. Last week, Chief of Defense Staff General Bipin Rawat said that India is concerned about terrorist activities in Afghanistan spreading in the country after the takeover and had contingency plans in place to deal with the scenario.
On 25 August, Rawat, the country’s most senior military commander, said that India feared the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, but its rapid pace was astonishing.
The Taliban captured Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, on 15 August, rapidly capturing most of the country’s major cities.
In an assessment as recently as last month, the Indian side concluded that the Taliban would shift their operations from rural areas to capture urban centers and provincial capitals by the end of August, prompting the withdrawal of US forces. After completion of. . The Indian side also expected air support for Afghan security forces from the US if the Taliban entered urban areas. Assessments made by both the Indian and Afghan sides also suggested that fighting would continue for at least two to three months, until the onset of winter.