Pawar opines 'With Taliban's takeover, Afghan joins Pak-China as potent trouble for India'

Referring to the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Monday underlined the need for India to be 'extra vigilant'. Talking to the media, the veteran leader asserted that earlier, India only had border issues with China and Pakistan, but with the change in leadership, Afghanistan can also be a potential threat. He highlighted the changing relationship with Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and added that India should be reviewing its foreign policy. 

"If needed, we will support the government because this is a matter of national security," former Defence Minister Sharad Pawar added while highlighting that border security was a sensitive issue and his speaking much on the matter was not right. 

Earlier in the day, the Indian National Congress had released a statement along with the same tunes. In the statement, the national party outlined the Taliban and Haqqani Network's connections with Pakistan's ISI and JeM, LeT, JuD, and the urgent need for India to 'revisit' the geopolitical interests in this background its impact on Jammu and Kashmir. 

'Time to get serious': Subramanian Swamy

Earlier, Bharatiya Janata Party had also acknowledged the new-found risk posed by the Taliban's take over of Afghanistan. Taking to his official Twitter handle, Subramanian Swamy drew the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asserted that now is the time to 'get serious' about the 'governance for battle'.

Subramanian Swamy highlighted that the Taliban, which Pakistan allegedly mentored in the tussle with the Afghan government, is now at a 'striking distance', and will be provoked by China. The BJP leader, highlighting that the United States is only 'good at supplying weapons' urged the PM Modi-led Central government to get done, what he referred to as 'Bharat Mata's destined duty'. 

Taliban takeover

As US troops retreat after 20 years from war-torn Afghanistan, the Taliban has launched an offensive taking over cities like Kandahar, Herat, and Lashkar Gah, gradually encircling the government in Kabul. While Kandahar and Herat fell on Thursday, forcing government officials and their entourage to flee to the airport to escape the city by air, Mazar-e-Sharif fell on Friday, while Jalalabad and Lashkar Gah on Saturday, taking over all border posts leading to Kabul, leaving only Kabul airport as the remaining exit from the war-torn nation. The Taliban then issued a statement saying that they have no plans to take the Afghan capital by force, following which the Afghan government, via its interim interior minister, said that there would be no fighting and that a peaceful transfer of power was being worked out, confirming that the government had surrendered.

However, while the points for a peaceful transfer of power were still being worked out, taking a U-turn on its 'no forceful entry' statement, the Taliban on Sunday evening entered the capital city of Afghanistan, Kabul. 

Image Credit-PTI/AP