India and Russia to secure Central Asia against Taliban radicalisation
While the security of Central Asian Republics was discussed in the Doval-Patrushev meeting, the Russian interlocutors conveyed that situation in these republics was under control, but the threat will mount once the Taliban will get ambitious to spread their cult across the Amu Darya.
India and Russia have decided to join hands to firewall Central Asian Republics bordering Afghanistan from spill-over of Islamic radicalisation and jihad from Taliban-ruled Kabul. The security of Central Asian Republics was discussed in India-Russia NSA level consultations between Ajit Doval and Nikolay Patrushev on Wednesday. The meeting was attended by intelligence chiefs from both sides.
With the US out of Afghanistan, the Central Asian Republics are also willing to reciprocate the Indian overtures and are firmly with the Russian Federation.
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According to those aware of developments, there are firm indications that Turkey and Pakistan are trying to get a toehold in these republics through NGOs with Ankara providing technical support in the Islamization efforts. The Central Asian Republics practice Islam but not of the variety show-cased by the Taliban.
It is understood that in its mission to spread radical Islam the Taliban ruled Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will be used to promote life under Sharia with the backing of Turkey and Pakistan. The al Qaeda affiliate Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) has active cadres in Afghanistan and influence in the fertile Ferghana Valley of Uzbekistan.
While the security of Central Asian Republics was discussed in the Doval-Patrushev meeting, the Russian interlocutors conveyed that situation in these republics was under control, but the threat will mount once the Taliban under mentorship of Pakistan will get ambitious to spread their cult across the Amu Darya.
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In this context, Russia and India have decided to work together for engaging the Central Asian Republics with the Modi government ready to step up bilateral ties with each of these countries including Turkmenistan. India has close ties with Tajikistan with a strong element of defence and security.
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In this context, Russia and India have decided to work together for engaging the Central Asian Republics with the Modi government ready to step up bilateral ties with each of these countries including Turkmenistan. India has close ties with Tajikistan with a strong element of defence and security.
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With the US out of Afghanistan, the Central Asian Republics are also willing to reciprocate the Indian overtures and are firmly with the Russian Federation. Their immediate concern, however, is spill-over of jihad from Afghanistan with the Taliban refusing to disavow Al Qaeda and its affiliates, who have tasted blood in Kabul.
Shishir Gupta is Executive Editor at Hindustan Times and one of India's top journalists covering national security, strategic affairs, foreign policy and geopolitics. Over the past three decades, he has extensively reported on India's military, diplomatic and security landscape, covering every major conflict and national security challenge, from the 1999 Kargil War and the 2020 East Ladakh standoff to Operation Sindoor in 2025. He has also covered major terror attacks, including the IC-814 hijacking, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and the 2025 Pahalgam terror strike, along with numerous Pakistan-backed terrorist incidents in the Kashmir Valley and across India. He has reported on national and state elections for more than three decades. A recognised authority on strategic affairs, Gupta has covered India's nuclear programme since the Pokhran-II (Shakti series) tests in May 1998 and has written extensively on global nuclear issues, Indian diplomacy and the country's expanding global outreach. He has also reported widely on international conflicts and terrorism, with a special focus on the Indian subcontinent. Gupta has interviewed Prime Minister Narendra Modi more than four times, including Modi's first interview with the print media after becoming Prime Minister in May 2014. His other interviews include three with the Dalai Lama, as well as conversations with Benjamin Netanyahu, Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath, S. Jaishankar, Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal. He is the author of Indian Mujahideen: The Enemy Within (Hachette, 2011) and Himalayan Face-off: Chinese Assertion and Indian Riposte (Hachette, 2014). He was awarded the Chevening-Wolfson Joint Scholarship at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, UK, in 1998 and participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) of the US State Department in 2006. He received the Ben Gurion Prize from Israel in 2011 and the K. Subrahmanyam Prize for Strategic Studies in 2015 from the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA). Since 2024, he has hosted Point Blank, Hindustan Times' weekly YouTube show on global geopolitics.
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