India concerned about situation in Afghanistan: Pentagon official

 The Pentagon official said Indians want to work with the US on this issue, by sharing intelligence and cooperating

India is concerned about the current situation in Afghanistan, a top Pentagon official has told US lawmakers here.

“As I’m sure you’re aware, they (Indians) are concerned about the situation in Afghanistan. They’re concerned about the intersection between instability there and their counterterrorism concerns,” Colin H Kahl, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee during a hearing on Afghanistan, South and Central Asia Security.

“They (Indians) want to work with us on those issues, sharing intelligence, cooperating where we can,” he said, adding that there is a tremendous convergence between US and Indian national interests right now “It provides a lot of opportunity for us to cooperate with India, not just on Afghanistan and counterterrorism, but on broader regional security questions, in the Indian Ocean and as it relates to the broader Indo-Pacific,” Kahl said.

He was responding to a question from Senator Gary Peters.

“India’s policies towards Afghanistan have been conceived largely through the lens of competition and proxy conflict with Pakistan. So it stands to reason that New Delhi should be no less concerned about the possibility that a Taliban government could benefit anti-Indian terrorist groups, especially those oriented towards Kashmir,” he said.