India worried about the impact of the Taliban in Kashmir

On August 15, the Taliban launched an offensive on Kabul and escalated bloodshed against Muslims throughout the region, including attacks on government forces and raids on militant hideouts along the Indo-Pakistan ceasefire line, according to reports. A total of 40 persons were killed in the Himalayan region during the next two months, which has been divided since India and Pakistan earned independence from Britain in 1947. In the vicinity of the ceasefire line, armed activists have slain soldiers and insurgents, as well as members of the Hindu and Sikh minorities.

Foreign leaders were briefed on Narendra Modi's fears about the Taliban, which he thought would be emboldened as a result of the Islamists' victory in Afghanistan, according to the Indian prime minister. However, residents and security sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity indicated that India has intensified patrols in the vicinity of Pakistani Kashmir and fortified many army outposts, although the Taliban's control has not been confirmed. Modi spoke at the G20 meeting in Rome earlier this week about the importance of preventing Afghanistan from becoming a haven for "radicalization and terrorism." Vice President Joe Biden of the United States has been briefed on India's worries, according to reports.

A few months later, he spoke at the United Nations General Assembly, warning that no country should be allowed to use Afghanistan "for its selfish objectives," a speech that was widely interpreted as referring to Pakistan, which had been the Taliban's most important supporter in Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001, according to the Associated Press. Islamabad has refused to recognise the Taliban's new government for the second time in a row. This time around, Islamabad has refused to recognise the new Taliban government. While this is true, New Delhi accuses Islamabad of providing support to Pakistani militant groups Lashkar e Taiba and Jaish e Mohammad, both of which have carried out attacks in the Indian state of Kashmir. Pakistan categorically denies all of the allegations levelled against it. The Soviet-backed puppet government in Kabul was overthrown in 1992, with the assistance of Indian soldiers led by mujahideen fighters. To top it all off, it assisted US-led forces during the overthrow of the Taliban administration in 2001. Radical Islamists assassinated a key fundraiser to the Obama administration in August of this year.

For numerous decades, Taliban fighters fought with Kashmiri terrorists in a joint effort to defeat them. According to a former Kashmiri fighter, approximately 20 Afghan "guest mujahideen" were murdered and a further ten were taken hostage in the attack. After two wars with Pakistan, India is concerned that weapons and warriors will invade the region once more. Pakistan has denied this. "We can say and learn from history that when the previous Taliban regime was in control, we had foreign terrorists of Afghan origin in Jammu and Kashmir," General M.M. Naravane, the Indian military's chief of staff, said. "We can say and learn from history that when the previous Taliban regime was in control, we had foreign terrorists of Afghan origin in Jammu and Kashmir."

As a result of the country's present security measures, Naravane and other Indian military chiefs believe Delhi will be able to deal with any escalation in security issues in Kashmir. The security forces in Kashmir, according to a senior official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue, are "quite alarmed," the person. According to Wilson Center South Asia scholar Michael Kugelman, Afghanistan's new rulers could result in "more volatility" in Kashmir as a result of their actions. Taliban officials have claimed that they seek to maintain economic and other ties with India and have stated that they wish to maintain contact. "Those who are affiliated with the Taliban would instigate unrest in Kashmir," he said in his speech. According to a Pakistani journalist, security specialist Mosharraf Zaidi believes that the Taliban has no intention of "deliberately disturbing the Indian authorities." According to him, their success is even more significant because of the message it sends to "young Kashmiri boys and girls who are watching the images from Afghanistan."

Since Delhi revoked Kashmir's semi-autonomous status in 2019, protests have been nearly impossible to organise due to the restrictions imposed by the state itself. Despite widespread condemnation of the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, some in Kashmir have quietly welcomed the move as a victory against all odds that they hope to accomplish for themselves. According to a businessman from Srinagar, the capital and largest city of Kashmir, "if they can defeat the world's most powerful military power, we see a possibility that we, too, would be able to gain our independence."

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