An official source close to the Indian Intelligence Department, who wants to remain anonymous, has stated that the Islamic State – Khorasan (ISIS-K) – a branch of the Islamic State (ISIS) that is active in South and Central Asia, especially in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and India – has gained strength in Afghanistan in recent times. Hence, the outfit wants to spread Jihad in South and Central Asia, including India, as its main objective is to carry out terror attacks in India and to brainwash the Indian youths. According to the Indian Intelligence Department, they have already started implementing their plan in India, with a number of youths from western Indian city of Mumbai and southern Indian Province of Kerala joining the ISIS-K.

Another Indian intelligence officer has expressed serious concern over the issue, saying that if the Indian youths adopt the ISIS-K’s ideology, the terror outfit would soon start having branches in the country.

Since the withdrawal of US troops on August 31, 2021, Afghanistan has become a safe haven for many terror outfits. Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), a Pakistan-based Deobandi Jihadist Mujahideen group that want to separate Kashmir from India and merge it into Pakistan, has set up bases in Helmand Province of Afghanistan. It may be noted that the JeM has carried out multiple terror attacks in Kashmir and other parts of India. Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), another Pakistan-based terror group that was behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks, has also set up a base in eastern Afghan Province of Kunar. In such a situation, the growing activities of the ISIS-K have triggered a fresh tension in India.

The current scenario in Afghanistan has prompted India and Russia to assess Taliban actions before any recognition move. During their recent meeting, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed on the rise of Islamic radicalisation in South Asia, expressing serious concern over the spread of terrorism by Taliban affiliated groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan. As both New Delhi and the Kremlin have noticed no marked change in the Sunni Pashtun Islamist force since they first came to power in 1996, they have no plan to recognise the new Emirates of Afghanistan in near future.

As India is also in discussion with the US, the EU and the UN on the political development in Afghanistan, one must remember the role both Russia and India played in bolstering the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance in the 1990s, along with Iran.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das