Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday took a veiled dig at Pakistan and accused it of resorting to a proxy war, in the wake of the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan.

He also iterated that the Indian security forces are committed to deal with the enemy anywhere and at any time in order to maintain national security.

While addressing the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Wellington in Tamil Nadu, Rajnath Singh said that after losing two wars, one of our neighbouring countries (Pakistan) has started resorting to proxy war, and terrorism has become an integral part of its state policy.

It has started targeting India by providing arms, funds and training to terrorists, he said.

He went on to say that if a ceasefire between India and Pakistan is successful today, it is because of India’s strength. In 2016, cross-border strikes changed our reactionary mindset into a proactive mindset, which was further strengthened by the Balakot airstrike in 2019, said the Defence Minister.

Despite challenges at our borders, the countrymen today are confident that there will be no comprise with India’s national security, he added.

The union minister further asserted that the belief that India would not only end terrorism on its own land but also not hesitate to conduct counter-terrorism operations on their land if needed, is gradually becoming stronger.

Talking about the Afghanistan crisis, Singh stressed that the changing equation in Afghanistan is a challenge for India.

“These situations have forced our country to rethink its strategy. We are changing our strategy and the formation of QUAD underlines this strategy,” he said.

He announced that the Defence Ministry is very seriously considering the formation of ‘Integrated Battle Groups’.

These ‘Integrated Battle Groups’ will be new groups to fight against the enemies. Under this, extremely lethal, brigade-sized agile and self-reliant fighter formations will be made.