Top Jaish leaders met Taliban leadership in Afghanistan to seek help in ‘India-centric’ operations

New Delhi : In what could raise the alarm among security forces, senior leaders of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), including Masood Azhar, met the Taliban leadership in Afghanistan’s Kandahar during the third week of August, reported news agency ANI quoting intelligence sources.

The sources said that the Jaish leaders met several top Taliban commanders, including Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, and sought their support in ‘India-centric’ operations. They said that the political situation in Pakistan was also discussed during the meeting.

Following the meet between Jaish and Taliban leaders, the intelligence sources said that security agencies across India, especially in Jammu and Kashmir, have been asked to “prepare themselves for any untoward situation”.

“We have ordered intelligence agencies to keep watch on social media. On August 24, we received input regarding the movement of two terrorists from Pakistan who are planning a grenade attack in Srinagar.

Taliban on August 15 captured Afghanistan’s capital Kabul as the United States (US) and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) withdrew their forces from the war-torn country, ending the 20-year war. However, with Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan, several experts have raised concerns that it might impact the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

However, several experts feel that Taliban “will not play Pakistan’s surrogate role in Jammu and Kashmir” and will continue to focus on Afghanistan because of the challenges posed by the West, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the Haqqani group.

“Taliban is unlikely to immediately intervene in Kashmir. The fighting in Afghanistan is likely to persist for months. Their attention is likely to be fully focused there. Second, regional neighbours and the West, Russia and Iran are concerned about the presence of ISIS, ISK and Haqqani group.