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Gen Malik concerned over Taliban's emergence

The Taliban's emergence in Afghanistan and its near control of that country is a cause of concern, army chief V P Malik said today.

''If this experiment, conceived and supported by Pakistan succeeds, the spread of fundamentalism accompanied by violence may soon spread across south, west and central Asia,'' Gen Malik said while addressing senior officers attending the National Defence College in New Delhi.

Touching upon the regional security environment, the army chief emphasised that adequate mutual confidence building measures at military level with China were in place.

India also had good relations with other neighbours like Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Maldives, he said.

''As far as Pakistan is concerned, the Pakistani military remains Indo-centric,' the army chief observed.

Pakistan's proxy war policy is dangerous not only for India but for the entire region and if militancy grows too high, both the initiator and the affected nation are tempted to use conventional war means, Gen Malik said.

UNI

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