‘Terror forces may exploit Afghan situation’

NEW DELHI: Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said that the government was closely monitoring the situation unfolding in Afghanistan and taking steps to ensure that anti-india forces do not exploit the developments there to fuel cross-border terrorism in India.

Delivering a talk on national security as part of the late Balramji Das Tandon lecture series, the defence minister said, “What is happening in neighbouring Afghanistan is raising new questions in terms of security and our government is constantly monitoring the developments there... Security of Indians is a cause of concern for the government. We also do not want that anti-india forces take advantage of the evolving Afghan situation for cross-border terrorism.”

also said that the government was committed to ensuring the security of Indians in that country.

The Indian security establishment has flagged concerns about terror spilling over from Afghanistan to Jammu and Kashmir via Pakistan after the Taliban takeover. Last week, chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat said India was concerned about terrorist activity in Afghanistan spilling over into the country after the takeover and contingency plans were in place to deal with the scenario.

On August 25, Rawat, the country’s senior-most military commander, said India anticihe pated the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan but its rapid pace was surprising. Taliban wrested control of the Afghan capital Kabul on August 15, capping a swift takeover of most major cities in that country.

Singh touched on the ongoing border row with China in the Ladakh sector. He said that government had made it clear to the forces that any unilateral action by the neighbour on the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC) will not be ignored. “That’s what the Indian Army did that day in Galwan and bravely confronted the PLA soldiers and forced them to retreat,” Singh said, referring the June 2020 brutal skirmish that left 20 Indian and an unspecified number of Chinese soldiers dead. He said future generations would be proud of the bravery and restraint shown by the Indian Army in Galwan valley.