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Rezaul H Laskar in Leh
Defence Minister George Fernandes on Sunday accused Pakistan of sending its soldiers to aid the Taleban in Afghanistan, even as it lent support to the United States-led campaign against terrorism.
"We have information that Pakistan sent military hardware to Afghanistan, and that it sent its soldiers to fight alongside the Taleban, even as it works with the US to fight terrorism," Fernandes said while addressing troops at a frontline Indian Air Force base.
The defence minister, who was making a whistle-stop tour of several key military facilities in Jammu and Kashmir's Ladakh district, asserted that India would address Islamabad's support to militant groups in Kashmir in the next phase of the war against terrorism.
"The entire world is united in the fight against terrorism and those in power in Pakistan should realise the consequences of fomenting terrorism in India," he said. "India's fight against this problem will begin soon, and we will succeed."
"The events in Afghanistan have shown that Pakistan will have to change its ways, especially in its relations with India," Fernandes said.
Fernandes also warned the global community that dismissing the Taleban as a defeated force would be a "big mistake".
"Only the first phase of the campaign in Afghanistan has ended with the entry of the Northern Alliance forces into Kabul," he said. "But the war has not ended. Don't think that the Taleban have been wiped out.
Indo-Asian News Service
ALSO SEE The Complete Coverage: US Strikes in Afghanistan The Complete Coverage: The Attacks on US Cities
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