Experts say India should try to ensure the US postpones troop withdrawal from the region
Experts say India should try to ensure the US postpones troop withdrawal from the region
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So what is in India's interest? When asked, former Union External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha told MiD DAY that he didn't think that this was the correct time to withdraw NATO forces from the region as Afghanistan government is not yet fully prepared to deal with the Taliban. "It will be an open invitation to Taliban to take over. I also don't believe in good Taliban and bad Taliban as a terrorist is always a terrorist. NATO forces should stay there for quite sometime until the outfit is reduced to the minimum. It is not the end of the terrorism and that fight should continue," Sinha told MiD DAY over the phone.
Sinha also cautioned India to be alert in the near future. "As the head of the most powerful terrorist organisation has been killed, its members must be demoralised and so will search for soft targets. For giving the impression that their organisation is still strong even after the death of their chief, they will plan some terrorist attacks here and there. India should be cautious and alert not for the next two to three weeks but for quite sometime," he said.u00a0u00a0
When asked how US troop withdrawal from the Af-Pak region will affect India, former Jt Director of IB MK Dhar said, "It will be horrible for India." Rafiullah Azami, a Jamia professor said: "India was seduced to be part of the US war in the region due to geopolitical reasons. How it goes from here, that has to be analysed,"
Ashok Behuria, a research fellow with IDSA, Institute of Defence studies and Analyses said: "I think now India, Pakistan and US collectively will have to think on what to do in the future for the benefit of the three countries. There needs to be an understanding amongst them."u00a0
Evidently India has been vulnerable as far as Afghanistan is concerned as displayed by the attack on Indian embassy in Kabul in 2009. The suicide bombing killed 17 people and wounded 63.u00a0 India has even hinted at a Pakistani link to the Kabul Embassy attack and Indian government officials have said that Afghanistan faces threat from terrorists and their 'patrons residing across the border' and that the blast was the handiwork of those who want to undermine Indo-Afghan friendship.
On alert
Security agencies are closely monitoring developments in the wake of killing of Osama bin Laden with Union Home Ministry issuing a countrywide alert to ensure safety of US nationals and enhanced security of American and Jewish installations in particular. Home Ministry has asked all states to tighten vigil particularly in places wherever there are American or Jewish installations while Bureau of Civil Aviation Security has directed stepped up security across all airports, officials said. In its advisory, the Home Ministry asked authorities in Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata to beef up security around the US consulates and foil any attempt by anyone to disturb peace there in the aftermath of the killing of the al Qaeda mastermind.u00a0While a tight vigil was being maintained in Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Hyderabad, Maharashtra and Kerala, official sources said the states have been conveyed to take stock of the security situation for foreign tourists especially Americans.
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