What does the meeting between Taliban and Jaish-e-Mohammad mean for India

New Delhi, Aug 30: The meeting between the leaders of the Jaish-e-Mohammad and Taliban has come under the radar of the Indian Intelligence agencies. The meeting that took place last week focused on India centric operations with the JeM seeking the help of the Taliban.

After the Taliban took over Afghanistan, several JeM terrorists were freed from jails and the concern for India is that these persons may be used to carry out strikes in India. While the Taliban is unlikely to spread its tentacles into Jammu and Kashmir, it could still provide support to the JeM which has its eyes focused on J&K.

The Intelligence Agencies are now focusing on social media accounts. Added to this ANI reported that the agencies are also keeping a close watch on two terrorists from Pakistan who are planning grenade attacks in Srinagar.

The Taliban following the takeover had said that Kashmir is India's internal matter and it would not interfere in it. However the JeM and Taliban share a close relationship and this was evident when it provided a safe haven during the Kandahar hijack, following which Masood Azhar was released. The JeM and Taliban are ideologically similar in nature and hence this victory of the Taliban is quite worrisome for India.

Afghansitan watchers tell OneIndia that both the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and the JeM have played a crucial role in Afghanistan and one must note that there are nearly 1,000 of their fighters who co-exist with the Taliban.

Afghanistan has been a happy hunting ground for both these terror groups. These groups have very often regrouped on the soil of Afghanistan and this is would be a concern for India.

While the Taliban has made assurances that it would not let its soil be used as safe havens for terror groups, the question is how much can it be trusted. The Lashkar-e-Tayiba and the JeM have their primary interests in Jammu and Kashmir. National security watchers tell OneIndia that the worry is that the Taliban would let Afghanistan used by these groups who have their main interests in the Valley.

While the Taliban is unlikely to send its fighters into India the worry is that terror activities may overflow into India. Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat had said that everything that has happened in Afghanistan was anticipated. He said that only the timelines have changed and this has certainly surprised us because we were anticipating the takeover to take place a couple of months down the line. There are contingency plans in place to deal with the situation in India, he also said.