India Anticipated Taliban Takeover of Afghanistan, Says CDS Bipin Rawat

New Delhi, August 25: India had anticipated the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, everything that's happening now was anticipated only the timelines have changed, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat said on Wednesday.

Speaking at an Observer Research Foundation event on "The India-US Partnership: Securing the 21st Century" in New Delhi, the CDS said: "Everything that has happened was something that had been anticipated, only the timelines have changed. From the Indian perspective, we were anticipating the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan."

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"Timeline has surprised us because were anticipating this happening maybe a couple of months down the line. But it's pretty much the same - same Taliban that was there 20 years ago," he added.

Speaking further, General Rawat said: "News reports and news from ex-pats who have come from there are all telling us the kind of activities that Taliban is into. All that has happened is that the partners have now changed. It's the same Taliban with different partners."

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Expressing New Delhi's concern over Afghanistan, General Rawat said that India was concerned about how terrorist activity from Afghanistan could overflow to India and so to that extent New Delhi contingency planning had been ongoing and the country is prepared for that.

"As far as Afghanistan is concerned, we'll make sure that any activity likely to flow out of Afghanistan & find its way into India will be dealt with in the manner in which we're dealing with terrorism in our country," he said.

"I think, if any kind of support can be forthcoming from the coordination, in at least identifying the terrorists & getting some intelligence input to fight this global war on terrorism, I think that would be welcome," he added.

When asked about the Afghanistan situation, US Admiral John C Aquilino, who was also present at the event, said, "The US is committed to getting its citizens out and its partners from Afghanistan. There has been close coordination between India and the central command to ensure our citizens are safe and extracted. The US will continue to operate in the pacific to ensure that all nations continue to share prosperity and security."

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