More turmoil, changes possible in Afghanistan, says Chief of Defence Staff

At a time when the Taliban have almost gained control over Afghanistan, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat on Wednesday suggested that there is a possibility of more turmoil and changes in the war-torn country.

The Chief of Defence Staff was speaking at a function and replying to a query on whether Pakistan and China, who have joined hands in Afghanistan, can pose a bigger threat to India on the borders jointly. Also read |  PTC exclusive: Haryana to reopen schools for classes 1, 2 and 3 from Oct 1 "Only time will tell what is going to happen in Afghanistan. Let us wait and watch to see whether things are moving the way people thought they were moving. Nobody ever thought that the Taliban would take over the country so fast. What is going to happen in future, you don't know what is in the future. There can be more turmoil and changes that can't be anticipated as of now," he said. General Rawat said the reforms in higher military echelons were required as the country was preparing to tackle the threat of Pakistan and China on its western and northern borders, respectively. He suggested that Pakistan was also trying to influence things in Punjab while the Chinese had shown aggression in the northern areas. The Chief of Defence Staff said the plan was to create one theatre command to look after the Pakistan threat while another to look at the northern sector. Harping on the issues in the present system, he said there were 17 commands, which looked at the two threats simultaneously. Also read | Engineer’s Day: India celebrates M Visvesvaraya’s 160th birthday He cited the example of the 1971 war where the eastern theatre worked in an integrated manner to ensure a crushing defeat for Pakistan and the capture of 93,000 Pakistan army after the surrender. After facing defeat in the 1971 war, the then Army Chief of Pakistan General, Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, along with his 93,000 troops surrendered. General Rawat said after the creation of the theatre commanders, the services chiefs would be rendering the role of raise, train and sustain and would be involved in the warfighting as part of the chairman and chiefs of staffs committee. Once the theatre commands were ready, the commanders would be reporting to the CDM of that time, he said. -PTC News