Delhi has been closely monitoring the rising number of terror attacks in Afghanistan since a peace deal was signed between the Taliban and the US in February. An Afghan policeman stand guard at the site of a suicide bomber attack on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, April 29, 2020

NEW DELHI: The Indian government is investigating growing linkages between Pakistan-based terror groups and the Taliban in Afghanistan that can adversely impact Indian interests in the region.

Delhi has been closely monitoring the rising number of terror attacks in Afghanistan since a peace deal was signed between the Taliban and the US in February.

In several meetings since then, including the one last week, India has conveyed to the US its concerns over the growing role of Pakistan and Pakistan-based terror groups in the Afghan conflict, ET has learnt.

It is no secret that Taliban's growing clout threatens India's interests in Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asia. The Chabahar Port in Iran remains India’s only gateway to landlocked Afghanistan and Central Asia, and any instability in Kabul could threaten Delhi’s economic and security interests in the region, according to people familiar with the issue.

India would not be averse to Afghan government’s decision on Tuesday to re-launch offensive operations against the Taliban and other groups following a series of attacks on civilians, as Delhi firmly believes in the legitimacy and rule of the elected government in Kabul, ET has further learnt.

According to Afghan security officials, the Afghan National Security and Defence Forces (ANDSF) have launched over 1,200 operations against the Taliban since the signing of the peace agreement between the US and the Taliban in Doha on February 29.

Afghanistan’s Office of the National Security Council (ONSC) has claimed that the Taliban has conducted an average of 55 attacks per day since the peace deal with the US.

The ONSC recently stated that the Taliban carried out 2,804 attacks from the beginning of March until April 19, and claimed that the group "does not remain committed to the reconciliation process that will help the country to end decades of war".

The peace deal was supposed to be the beginning of the end of war in Afghanistan, an Afghan government source told ET, adding, but what is being witnessed is continued Taliban attacks that claim lives of civilians and Afghan government forces.

The source also hinted at Pakistan role in providing safe havens to the Taliban. The Pakistani establishment provides funding to madrassas that train terrorists for suicide bombings, the source claimed. India had made similar arguments when US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad met foreign minister and the national security adviser here last week.