Taliban takeover of Afghanistan raises concerns over Pakistan using Afghan soil to foment terror
A meeting of all intelligence agencies and the heads of anti-terror units from all states is being held in the national capital today to discuss implications of the Taliban's takeover in Afghanistan and how Pakistan may exploit the situation to work against India.
There are concerns that Pakistan would eventually use Afghan soil to shelter, train, plan and finance terror groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed to foment trouble in India, especially in Jammu and Kashmir.
"The purpose of the meeting is to streamline the exchange of intelligence inputs and better coordination," said a senior officer of the Delhi Police, which is hosting the meeting.
The Delhi Police comes under the Home Ministry.
Radicalisation and threats emerging from India's neighbours are the two key points to be discussed in the day-long meeting, the officer said.
"The situation is changing drastically and threats have become very live from these two regions. So potential threat assessments will be made and discussed," a senior Home Ministry officer said, asking not to be named.
With US forces no longer in Afghanistan, friendly nations must find new ways to get intelligence, the officer said, adding dealing with threats is going to be tougher from now on but nothing that cannot be handled.
"All those who are participating will make a presentation on issues concerning them," the Home Ministry officer said.
Another key area of discussion is the role of social media in spreading information. "ISIS is a real threat. We are concerned about long dead terror cells getting reactivated, so we keep monitoring social media platforms for signs," another senior officer who's participating in the meeting said.
This is the first time that the Delhi Police's Special Cell has been invited to such a meeting. Previously, the Intelligence Bureau or the National Investigation Agency (NIA) used to host meetings of this kind where the scope is huge and participation is big.
The anti-terror agency heads from Jammu Kashmir, Mumbai, Kerala, Telangana, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand will attend the meeting, sources have said. Officers from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) and the NIA will also participate.