US withdrawal from Afghanistan will ‘free’ the Taliban to move into the Kashmir valley with GHQ’s backing.
New Delhi: India’s intelligence apparatus has told the government to prepare for an increased push by Pakistan into Kashmir through non-state actors in the coming days. This is because Pakistan’s deft handling of the United States in the recent couple of months and the impending withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan have emboldened the Rawalpindi General Headquarters (GHQ) into believing that it can get concessions from India on Kashmir. The Wahhabi lobby in Washington has lobbied hard with the Donald Trump administration to clear the way for the Taliban to take control of Kabul, as in 1994 through President Bill Clinton. This has also given Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI, which is looking to become more assertive under its new chief, Lt General Faiz Hameed, the opportunity to send Taliban fighters into the Kashmir valley, as many of them will not be required in Afghanistan anymore, informed sources have told The Sunday Guardian.
“Once the American soldiers leave, Afghanistan will become a safe haven for the terror groups under the Taliban. The close working relationship between GHQ and the Taliban is not a state secret. The GHQ will be able to facilitate the entry of these terrorists into Kashmir, with Pakistan claiming the alibi that it does not have any hand in any terror attacks as the terrorism is emanating from Afghanistan,” said a senior source who is following the development.
Online chatter accessed by The Sunday Guardian makes it clear that the jihadi groups that see the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan as a victory, have now become more “sure” about their ultimate aim to establish Ghazwa-e-Hind in the country, the first phase of which is to establish such a rule in Kashmir.
The Taliban, along-with the India-focused terrorist groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Tayyaba are getting ready to carry out strikes in the “heart” of India, intelligence gathered by Indian agencies recently has revealed.
These groups have been told by their handlers in GHQ that with the US withdrawing itself from Kabul, most probably as early as this yearend, and the US President publicly asserting that he is ready to help India solve the “Kashmir problem”, India will sooner or later come to the discussion table (on the topic of Kashmir) as the US has now made it clear that it no longer has the stomach to fight a war in the Indian subcontinent as its withdrawal from Afghanistan shows.
This withdrawal will “free” the Taliban fighters to move into the Kashmir valley and add to the force of the Pakistan army and non-state actors such as Jaish and Lashkar who are already active in the valley.
“Pakistan knows India will not sit silently in case of a jihadi attack, which, ultimately, is likely to lead to the involvement of the Pakistan military. This is what GHQ is looking for, to arrive at a situation where, India, reeling under a jihadi attack and a flare-up with Pakistan, will be forced to come to the table and give some concessions on Kashmir,” an informed source said.
As of now the Taliban controls more than 55% of Afghanistan, something which will increase more in the coming days.
Indian agencies “have taken note of” the recent suicide attack on Amrullah Saleh, the powerful former chief of Afghanistan’s spy agency, who is contesting for the post of Vice-President in the upcoming elections in that country. Even though Saleh survived the attack, more than 20 of his people lost their lives. The Taliban now controls more territory than it controlled in 2001 when the US invaded the country. Meanwhile, US ambassador to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad has ensured that US forces have killed a number of anti-Pakistan Pashtun fighters at the behest of the ISI.
“The plan is to make the situation in the valley more disturbed. Pakistan has got moral support from the US, something it will continue to get in the coming months, and it has got a new cadre (of the Taliban), who are bolder and more battle hardened than the Jaish and Lashkar. Suicide bombing, which was not something that we saw regularly in the valley, may become the new norm. It is a worrying situation”, an informed source said. However, he was confident that as in the 1990s, India will prevail despite the US running away from the battlefield in such obvious haste.