Army chief concerned about US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan

India is concerned about a vacuum developing in Afghanistan following the proposed withdrawal of United States and NATO forces from the country, the chief of the defence staff said on Thursday.

General Bipin Rawat told a security conference that the worry was “disruptors” would step into the space created by the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan. He declined to name the countries that could act as disruptors, news agency Reuters reported.

President Joe Biden has said that U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan starting May 1 to end America`s longest war, rejecting calls for them to stay to ensure a peaceful resolution to that nation`s grinding internal conflict.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan would mean bringing to an end the country’s longest war, spanning across two decades.