India is in al-Qaeda’s crosshairs. A new video released by the terror outfit, has accused India of “killing more than 100,000 Muslims in Kashmir with US blessing” and described targeting New Delhi as its “legitimate right.”

The warning issued in the video confirms fears expressed over the last few years by a section of Indian intelligence agencies that India is in danger of being targeted by al-Qaeda operatives.

Last week, National Security Advisor M K Narayanan said in an interview to a television channel that an al-Qaeda team had visited India on a reconnaissance mission. Over the past few years, there have been reports of al-Qaeda sightings in Jammu and Kashmir. These reports were dismissed by the security forces as untrue.

A few months back, media outlets in Srinagar received copies of al-Qaeda videos. More recently, when Indian nationals were found to be involved in the failed UK bombings, fears that al-Qaeda was now recruiting Indians were expressed. India’s warm relationship with the United States has not escaped al-Qaeda’s attention.

While India cannot allow a terror outfit to determine who its friends and foes should be, this is a matter that critics of India’s foreign policy have been repeatedly pointing out. India’s excessive embrace of the US position is bound to draw the ire of those who are opposed to the US.

While the all-Qaeda warning is worrying, it is not a cause for alarm. This might be the first time that al-Qaeda has explicitly mentioned India as a target for attack but it has been attacking India in the past through its allies, the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the Harkat-ul Mujahideen. The links of LeT and HuM with al-Qaeda are well known. These outfits are constituents of the International Islamic Front (IIF) which Osama bin Laden founded in 1998.

India has said that it is well-prepared to meet terror threats. However, there can be no room for complacency. A single crack in the security cordon is enough for terrorists to slip in. Terrorists are able to slip in with explosives and guns because corrupt police and customs officials facilitate their entry.

There is the politician-terrorist nexus as well that provides them with protection. India cannot claim to be prepared to meet terror threats so long as these chinks in its armour remain.