India and Russia warn of terrorist groups operating from Afghanistan | World news

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India and Russia say foreign militant groups operating from Afghanistan pose a threat to Central Asia and India and agree to deepen counterterrorism cooperation at meeting of their national security chiefs on Wednesday, officials said.

The Islamist Taliban won in Afghanistan last month after two decades of fighting and announced a provisional government that received a reserved reception from the international community.

India and Russia were both deeply concerned about developments in Afghanistan, an Indian government official said following a meeting between Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev and India’s national security adviser Ajit Doval in New Delhi.

Both sides agreed that the Taliban must keep their promises, which included respect for basic human rights, including for women, and not to allow their territory to be used by militant groups.

“There was a convergence of views on the presence of international terrorist groups in Afghanistan and the threat of terrorism in Central Asia and India,” the official said.

India is concerned that militant groups operating from Pakistan are also using Afghan territory to orchestrate attacks and says Pakistan should be held accountable because of its close ties to the Taliban.

Russia fears that the unrest in Afghanistan could spread to Central Asia, which it sees as its southern defensive flank and a sphere of influence from which radical Islamist threats could emanate.

Patrushev and Doval discussed deepening bilateral security cooperation with emphasis on continued cooperation in the fight against terrorism, the fight against illegal immigration and drug trafficking, the Council said. Russian security in a statement.

India and Russia have long been close military partners, but in recent years New Delhi has turned to the United States for arms supplies and forged close political ties.

But the Indian government official said the regional situation had changed dramatically after the US withdrew from Afghanistan and the Taliban seized power.

(Reporting by Sanjeev Miglani, additional reporting by Tom Balmforth in Moscow; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Alex Richardson)

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