Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Bipin Rawat on Wednesday India was anticipating a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan but the timelines of the latest developments have surprised it, noting that the outfit has not changed over the past 20 years. “From India’s perspective, we were anticipating a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. We were concerned about how the terrorist activities from Afghanistan could overflow into India,” he said.

“And to that extent, our contingency planning had been ongoing and we are prepared for it. Yes, the timelines certainly surprised us. We were anticipating this thing happening maybe a couple of months down the line,” he added. He asserted that any possible terrorist activity flowing out of Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and finding its way into India will be firmly dealt with.