New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today again raised concern over the Afghanistan crisis and said the government was keeping a close watch on the situation evolving in the war-torn country.
He said anti-national forces must not be allowed to encourage terrorism from across the border.
Rajnath was speaking on national security as part of the Balramji Das Tandon lecture series organised by Panjab University. Tandon, a former Governor of Chhattisgarh, was a senior political leader of Punjab. He served as a Cabinet Minister and was a six-term MLA.
Recalling the problems India has been facing at its borders over the last 75 years, the Defence Minister lauded the armed forces for overcoming every challenge that threatened national security.
Without naming Pakistan, the minister said, “Ever since Independence, there has been a constant attempt by some anti-India forces to create an atmosphere of instability within the country. When they realised they cannot wage a direct war, they resorted to a proxy war. They began to train and finance terrorists to target India,” said Rajnath.
“There hasn’t been any major terrorist incident in the hinterland of India in the last seven years. This shows that our armed forces have high morale and confidence,” he said.
Referring to the cross-border strikes on terror camps, Rajnath said national security would not be compromised. “The anti-India forces have understood that they are no longer in a position to do much in the Kashmir valley, especially after the abrogation of Article 370. I want to assure you that no power can separate Jammu and Kashmir from India,” he added.