India faces fresh Kashmir concerns after Taliban takeover in Afghanistan

The Taliban and al-Qaeda both mentioned Kashmir in recent days, sparking fears in India, which has been seeing increased violence in the region

Narendra Modi’s government fears an influx of Afghan fighters, Pakistan-based terrorists being inspired by the Taliban victory, and a new threat: drones

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Indian security forces patrol in front of closed shops in Srinagar after restrictions were imposed following the death of a separatist leader. Kashmir has seen an uptick in violence in the last three months. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:00pm, 3 Sep 2021Updated: 10:24pm, 3 Sep 2021

As New Delhi anxiously looks on at a new Taliban regime in Afghanistan, early signs are emerging that its worries are set to multiply, especially in the troubled Jammu & Kashmir region.

On Thursday, the Taliban said it had “the right to raise our voice for Muslims in Kashmir, India and any other country”. While spokesman Suhail Shaheen added that it was not the group’s policy to “raise arms” against any other country, such a statement is bound to concern India. It came just days after al-Qaeda celebrated the “victory” in Afghanistan and said it might turn its attention to Kashmir next, asking followers to “liberate” it “from the enemies of Islam”.

Voices from rival Pakistan, too, have signalled that there may be fresh instability. Last month, Neelam Irshad Sheikh, a leader of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf party, said Taliban leaders had told them they were “with” Pakistan and that “they will help us in Kashmir”.

All this spells trouble for the Indian establishment, which has been struggling to deal with the security situation in the region, especially since August 2019 when it stealthily placed thousands under house arrest overnight, imposed a communications blackout and downgraded Jammu & Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status, placing it directly under central rule.

Indian analysts and retired military officials warn that the emerging security threats to the region are likely to create a “dangerous” situation, especially with the Narendra Modi government’s strong-armed tactics there.

On Thursday, Indian security forces were accused of hastily burying a popular veteran leader of the Kashmiri separatist movement, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who died the previous evening at the age of 91.

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