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Archive for category INDIAN GOVTS LIES EXPOSED

The Afghan Connection of Terrorism in Pakistan By Sajjad Shaukat

 

The Afghan Connection of Terrorism in Pakistan

By

Sajjad Shaukat

 

 

 

 

 

A BABY’S BOTTLE LIES AS A SYMBOL OF BRUTALITY OF INDIA’S INTELLIGENCE AGENCY RAW TRAINED AFGHAN SUICIDE BOMBING AT THE SHRINE
OF SUFI SAINT LAL SHAHBAZ QALANDAR AT SEHWAN SHARIF, SINDH, PAKISTAN
CRUELTY HAS NO LIMIT IN HINDUISM

 

 

 

 

Additional Reading

Image result for Ajit Doval RAW Emblem

India’s Intelligence Service RAW trains suicide bombers in Afghanistan to kill innocent poverty stricken Pakistani citizens, who go to Sufi shrines to seek solace from life’s problems.

At least 70 dead as bomb rips through Lal Shahbaz shrine in Sehwan, Sindh

 

 

 

 

Pakistan’s Armed Forces have broken the backbone of the foreign-backed terrorists by the successful military operation Zarb-e-Azb which has also been extended to other provinces of the country. While, Pakistan’s law-enforcing agencies, especially primary intelligence agency, ISI has broken the network of these terrorist groups by capturing several militants, while thwarting a number of terror attempts. But, the new wave of terrorism which started in the beginning of this year, having a connection in Afghanistan has, again, enveloped Pakistan.

 

In this regard, at least 88 people were martyred and 343 were injured on February 17, this year when a suicide bomber attacked the crowded Sufi shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan, Sindh province of Pakistan. 

 

Terrorist organization, the Islamic State group (Also known as Daesh, ISIS, ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attack.

 

On February 15, three suicide bombers targeted Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the adjoining tribal areas leaving around seven people dead. One of the incidents occurred in Peshawar where a suicide bomber riding a motorbike hit a vehicle carrying civil judges, while two other suicide bombers blew themselves up at separate locations in Mohmand Agency.

 

At least 13 people were killed on February 13, this year when a suicide bomber struck outside the Punjab Assembly on the Mall Road in the eastern city of Lahore during a peaceful protest of the chemists and pharmacists against a new law.

 

The affiliated faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Jamaat-ur-Ahrar (TTP-JA also known as JuA) took responsibility for the deadly suicide bombing in Lahore.

 

Terror attack in Lahore coincided with the incident in Quetta-the provincial capital of Pakistan’s Balochistan province, where at least one policeman was killed and five people were injured on February 13, 2017, in an explosion occurred on Sariab road.

 

Besides, more than 24 people had been killed in an explosion which ripped through a crowded marketplace in Parachinar Kurram tribal agency on January 21, 2017. Soon after the incident, Afghan-based TTP claimed responsibility for the blast in Parachinar.

 

At least 65 people were killed when a blast struck at the shrine of the Sufi saint Shah Noorani in Balochistan’s Hub Tehsil on November 12, 2016. ISIL had accepted responsibility for the attack via Amaq, its affiliated news agency.

 

Earlier, the affiliated group of the TTP, TTP-JA took responsibility for a deadly suicide bombing in Quetta, which killed at least 74 people on August 8, 2016, in an assault at the government-run Civil Hospital.

 

However, the suicide bombing at Lal Shahbaz Qalandar is the worst single attack since the TTP militants massacred about 150 students at an army school in Peshawar in December 2014. Pakistan’s military and civil high officials strongly condemned the attack and recent terror attacks by pointing out their connection in Afghanistan.

 

In this respect, a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that senior Afghan diplomats were summoned to the General Headquarters (Of army) over the recent spate of terrorist attacks in Pakistan and asked to ensure that immediate action was taken against the Pakistani terrorists living in safe havens in their country.

 

The army, which took the lead in dealing with Afghanistan over the terrorist sanctuaries there, had soon after the Sehwan shrine attack announced the closure of the border crossings with Afghanistan citing security reasons.

 

According to the statement of the DG ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor, on February 17, 2017, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa appealed to the nation to stay calm by saying, “our security forces shall not allow hostile powers to succeed…each drop of nation’s blood shall be avenged and avenged immediately…no more restraint for anyone.”

 

Gen. Javed Bajwa had called Gen John Nicholson, commander of the US’s Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan through the telephone to protest continued acts of terrorism in Pakistan perpetrated from Afghanistan, saying that they were testing Pakistan’s policy of cross-border restraint.

 

Gen. Bajwa told Gen. Nicholson that recent incidents of terrorism in Pakistan had been claimed by terrorist organizations whose leadership is hiding in Afghanistan, and asked him to play his role in “disconnecting this planning, direction, coordination and financial support”.

 

In a terse message, during the conversation with Nicholson, Gen. Bajwa also informed him of the list of 76 “most wanted” terrorists handed over to Afghan authorities earlier—operating from Afghan territory or hand them over to Pakistan for trying them over their involvement in terrorism.

 

Taking note of the terror assault in Sehwan, including the recent ones, Pakistan Army targeted a training camp of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and militant hideouts located close to the Pak-Afghan border in areas adjacent to Mohmand and Khyber agencies.

 

In a similar message to Kabul, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz called Afghan National Security Adviser Hanif Atmar to call for strong action against JuA and terrorist’s sanctuaries in Afghanistan.

 

The Foreign Office of Pakistan said that Afghanistan had been asked to address concerns about the presence of terrorist groups on its soil, which are behind the latest wave of terrorism in the country.

 

It is notable that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, while addressing a press conference on February 17, this year claimed that the suspects involved in planning and carrying out the Feb 13 suicide bombing on a protest at Lahore’s Charing Cross (Mall Road) belonged to Afghanistan. Sharif also announced the arrest of the facilitator of the attacker, Anwar-ul-Haq who he said belonged to Fata’s Bajaur Agency which neighbours Afghanistan. The suspect’s confessional statement was aired during the briefing. The suspect stated, “I was associated with Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and they trained me”, adding that he has visited Afghanistan around 15 to 20 times.

 

The police officers involved in the investigation into the incident of Mall Road, Lahore revealed that Jamaat-ul-Ahrar is an offshoot of the Tehreek-i-Taliban.

 

Nevertheless, Pakistan has been hit by a series of terrorist attacks since Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) announced its ‘Operation Ghazi’. The Afghanistan-based JuA had in the announcement also hinted at the unification of TTP splinter groups.

 

As regards the terror assault on the Police Training College in Quetta, IG FC Major General Sher Afgan had informed the press that the attackers acted on directions from Afghanistan and the initial investigation suggested that the terrorists were affiliated with the outlawed Lashkar-e- Jhangvi Al Almi militant group. He elaborated, “We came to know from the communication intercepts that there were three militants who were getting instructions from Afghanistan.”

 

Notably, as part of the dual strategy, CIA, RAW, and Mossad are in connivance with the Afghan intelligence agency, National Directorate of Security (NDS) and other terrorist groups. With the latest capture of six NDS supported terrorists in Balochistan, the number of NDS backed terrorists arrested and killed by Pakistani intelligence agencies has crossed over 126. These external secret agencies are particularly supporting the TTP which is hiding in Nuristan and Kunar provinces of Afghanistan. Reportedly, Mullah Fazlullah led TTP was being prepared to carry out a fresh wave of terror activities inside Pakistan, as the latter has become the center of the Great Game owing to the ideal location of Balochistan.

 

Located on the southwestern coast of Pakistan, Balochistan’s Gwadar seaport is close to the Strait of Hormuz from where more than 17 million barrels of oil passes every day. Its location among South Asia, the oil-rich Middle East, and oil and gas-resourced Central Asia has further increased its strategic significance. Besides, Balochistan’s abundant mineral resources irritate the eyes of the US, India, and Israel which intend to weaken Pakistan for their collective aims, as the latter is also the only nuclear country in the Islamic World.

 

In case of Balochistan, every Pakistani knows that the militant outfits like ISIS and separatist groups like the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and their affiliated groups, including Jundollah (God’s soldiers) and Lashkar-i-Janghvi which have been creating unrest in the Balochistan get logistic support from RAW and Mossad with the tactical assistance of CIA. In the recent years, these terrorist outfits massacred many persons through suicide attacks, bomb blasts, targeted killings and sectarian violence. These externally-supported insurgent groups had kidnapped and killed many Chinese and Iranian nationals in Pakistan including Iranian diplomats. They have claimed responsibility for a number of terror assaults, including those on Shias in Balochistan and Iranian Sistan-Baluchistan.

As a matter of fact, like Syrian war, as part of the dual strategy of their countries, CIA, RAW and Mossad are especially using ISIS terrorists who are behind the latest blasts in Balochistan to obtain the covert aims of their countries against Pakistan, China, and Iran.

 

It is of particular attention that arrest of the Indian spy Kulbushan Yadav in Balochistan has exposed Indian undeclared war against Pakistan. While addressing a joint press conference with the then Federal Minister for Information Pervaiz Rasheeda and former Director General of ISPR Lt. Gen. Asim Saleem Bajwa said on March 29, 2016, “Kulbushan Yadav’s arrest is a rare case that does not happen very often.” He disclosed that Yadav was an active officer of the Indian Navy prior to his joining RAW. He also served as a scrap dealer and had a jewelry business in Chahbahar, Iran, after he joined RAW in 2013.

 

A video was also shown during the press conference in which Yadav confessed that he spied for India. Yadav admitted that he was assigned with the task to create unrest in Karachi and Balochistan by stating, “I supported the individuals who worked to destabilize Pakistan…I promoted the criminal mindset that was there in Balochistan.” Another task assigned to him was to target the Gwadar Port. Yadav also confessed—funding Baloch separatists along with other terrorists. During an investigation, RAW agent Yadav admitted that during his stay, he contacted various Baloch separatist leaders and insurgents, including Dr. Allah Nazar Baloch, to execute the task to damage the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s security agencies uncovered another ring of Indian spies in the country, working as under covert agents, found involved in subversive activities to destabilize Pakistan. In this connection, on November 2, last year, Islamabad disclosed that five Indian diplomats who were serving at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad found to be part of the RAW spy network and were involved in subversive activities by facilitating and funding terrorism. They were declared as persona non grata and expelled from the country. 

 

Undoubtedly, almost all the terrorists or terrorist groups and insurgency in Pakistan, especially have their connection in Afghanistan. The porous border between Pakistan and Afghanistan is frequently used by human and drug traffickers, criminals and terrorists. Their easy access through unguarded porous border provides an opportunity to miscreants to cause havoc inside Pakistan and Afghanistan. For the effective counter-terrorism measures strong border, control management is vital at Pak-Afghan border. But, Afghan rulers are using delaying tactics in this respect.

 

Taking cognizance of the anti-Pakistan intruders, Pakistan’s army had decided to build a fence along the border and to control the border crossings. The strategic project of the 1,100-kilometre-long trench with the cost of Rs14 billion which was initiated along Pak-Afghan border in Balochistan by Frontier Corps in 2013 has been completed last year. In the next phase, the project will be extended to the entire long border with Afghanistan which had opposed this plan.

While, from time to time, controversy arises between Afghanistan and Pakistan when Afghan officials refused to recognize the Durand Line which is the 2640 kilometer long and porous border, situated between both the countries.

 

The issue again came to the limelight on June 12, 2016, when Afghan security forces started unprovoked firing at Torkham border crossing, resulting in injuries to more than 16 Pakistani citizens, including the martyrdom of some Pakistani security personnel. The aim was to stop Pakistan from the construction of a gate. 

 

Durand Line has not been drawn by Pakistan, but it was declared borderline by British representative Sir Durand and Afghan Ameer Ghazi Amanullah Khan in 1919. People of Pakistan’s province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA (Tribal Areas) opted to join Pakistan in 1947. So, it is a declared borderline and Afghan government has no right to object on any construction along with the Durand line.

 

There is no doubt that escalation of tension at Pak- Afghan border is deliberately engineered by the elements opposed to peace talks and improvement of bilateral relations between Islamabad and Kabul.

 

Pakistan is committed to tackling the problem of terrorism mainly emanating from Afghanistan. Therefore, the effective border management becomes imperative to control all the terrorism-related infiltrations, drug smuggling etc.  Moreover, effective border management will also facilitate both countries to come out of blame game, as it would offer a strict check on both sides to counter the free movement of terrorists and drug mafia lords, who are the important factors of deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan and its obvious backlash on Pakistan.

 

Besides, Afghan peace and reconciliation process is a reality despite its slow pace and continual interruptions. The positive trajectory of constructive relations between Islamabad and Kabul raised alarm bells amongst the US-led adversaries who are attempting to affect the progressive Pak-Afghan relations through smear and sinister scheming.

 

Pakistan and Afghanistan have previously suggested many initiatives to resolve their differences. However, as fast as these solutions had emerged, they have disappeared due to lack of follow-up. Afghanistan and Pakistan have no other option, but to cooperate and resolve their differences through political and diplomatic dialogue. And there is a huge lack of trust between the both sides. Hence, it is imperative for both the countries to develop a framework for strategic dialogue, focused on short, medium and long-term solutions. As a trust-building initiative, an effective border management mechanism will be beneficial for the two countries. Such an establishment will also plug in many loopholes, being manipulated by the terrorist outfits to conduct cross-border terrorism. 

 

We may conclude that besides the previous terror-events, the recent incidents of terrorism in Pakistan have a connection in Afghanistan.

 

Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: The US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations

 

Email: sajjad_logic_pak@hotmail.com

 

Courtesy Veterans Today

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India: The New Face of Global Terrorism

 

 

 

Research and Analysis Wing of India

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Congressman: Declare India a Terrorist State, Congratulates Council of Khalistan on It’s 11th Anniversary

WASHINGTON, October 8 — “The United States must declare India a terrorist state,” said Congressman Edolphus Towns (D-NY) in a Congressional statement on October 6. He cited a recent statement by Kuldip Nayar, a member of the Rajiya Sabha, the upper house of India’s Parliament, that a Pakistani attack on the village of Doda was an act of retaliation for India’s actions in the Pakistani state of Sindh. “Nayar, a veteran journalist and former Indian Ambassador to the United Kingdom who is now a member of the upper house of India’s Parliament, admitted that India is a terrorist state,” Congressman Towns said. “How long will it take for America to admit it?” “Unfortunately, Mr. Nayar’s remarks ignore another aspect of Indian state terrorism: the tyranny it has inflicted on the Sikhs, the Christians of Nagaland, the Muslims of Kashmir, and others,” Representative Towns said. The Indian government has murdered more than 250,000 Sikhs since 1984, over 200,000 Christians in Nagaland since 1947, about 60,000 Muslims in Kashmir since 1988, and tens of thousands of Assamese, Manipuris, Tamils, Dalits the aboriginal people of South Asia), and others. Over 50,000 Sikhs have “disappeared” and thousands languish in Indian jails, some since 1984. In November 1984, the Hitavada newspaper reported that the Indian government paid the late Governor of Punjab, $1.5 billion to foment state terrorism. Recently, the VHP, an organization affiliated with the ruling BJP, publicly endorsed the rape of four nuns in Madhya Pradesh. “In this light, the United States must declare India a terrorist state,” Towns said. “We must then impose all the sanctions that we impose on a terrorist state. This will be a good step towards ending the terrorism and restoring freedom to all the people of South Asia,” he added. Congressman Towns also took note of the anniversary of the Sikh Nation’s declaration of an independent Khalistan and the formation of the Council of Khalistan. “I congratulate the Council and its President, Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, on this important occasion,” he said. “The Sikhs have a history of self-rule,” Representative Towns said. “They ruled Punjab from 1765 and 1849 and were recognized by most of the world’s major countries. They were promised an independent state at the time of India’s independence,” Towns said, “but were given false promises to keep them within India’s artificial borders. Not one Sikh representative has ever signed the Indian constitution to this day, 51 years later,” he said. “Now the Sikhs seek to reclaim their national status.” “When the Serbian dictator institutes a campaign of ‘ethnic cleansing’ in Bosnia or Kosovo, we recognize that this is a clear example of a government which is destroying liberty, not upholding it,” Towns said, “yet when India commits genocide against Sikhs, Christians, Muslims, and others, many members of this House proudly defend it as ‘the world’s largest democracy’,” he said. “On behalf of the Sikh Nation, I thank Congressman Towns for his comments,” said Dr. Aulakh. “India has spent over a billion dollars to foment state terrorism. I thank Congressman Towns for exposing this brutal regime. Leaders like Ed Towns are helping to bring freedom closer for all the people of South Asia,” he said.

Anniversary of Council of Khalistan

WASHINGTON, October 6 — Wednesday, October 7 marks the eleventh anniversary of Khalistan’s declaration of independence and the founding of the Council of Khalistan. The Council of Khalistan serves as the government pro tempore of Khalistan. It leads the peaceful, democratic, nonviolent struggle to liberate Khalistan from Indian occupation. The Council of Khalistan has made the Western world aware of the plight of the Sikh Nation, preserved Sikh history, assisted asylum applicants, exposed the atrocities of the Indian government and the betrayal of the Sikh Nation by the Akali government, produced more written material than any other Sikh organization, and consistently promoted the cause of Sikh freedom. “We are very proud of our achievements over the past eleven years,” said Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan. “No other Sikh organization has been a consistent voice for the well-being of the Sikh Nation for so long,” he said. “We could not have done it without the support of the Khalsa Panth,” he said. “We thank the Sikh Nation for supporting us for eleven years and I ask for your continued support until the job is done.” Because of the efforts of the Council of Khalistan, the U.S. Congress has been made aware of the plight of the Sikh Nation. When Prime Minister Vajpayee came to the United Nations in New York, he was blasted in Congress by Congressman Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) Towns noted the flyer circulated at the demonstration, which said that “the Indian government’s main mission is Hindu, Hindi, Hindustan. There is no room for Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, or Christians. A religiously intolerant government can never be democratic.” He called for a plebiscite on independence in Punjab, Khalistan. On October 2, U.S. Congressman John Doolittle (R-Cal.) issued a statement condemning the rape of four nuns in Madhya Pradesh. “This terrible incident shows that it is not safe to be a member of a religious minority in Hindu India,” he said. “India’s claims of secularism and democracy are suspect.” He urged Congress to “maintain pressure on India until all the people of South Asia are free” and called for “self-determination for all states throughout the subcontinent.” Congressman Towns also made a statement noting the remarks of Sharad Pawar, the Leader of the Opposition in the Indian Lok Sabha (Parliament) that India could go the way of the Soviet Union. “Pawar said that India’s missiles should not make it overconfident about keeping the country together,” Congressman Towns said. “The decline of India is inevitable, Mr. Speaker, for many of the same reasons that doomed the Soviet Union,” Towns said. “I think I speak for most of us here when I say that I hope it happens in a peaceful way like the Soviet breakup did. Otherwise there is the danger of another Yugoslavia in South Asia.” All three statements mentioned Dr. Aulakh and the Council of Khalistan. The Indian government has murdered more than 250,000 Sikhs since 1984, over 200,000 Christians in Nagaland since 1947, almost 60,000 Kashmiri Muslims since 1988, and tens of thousands of Assamese, Tamils, Manipuris, Dalits, and others. The U.S. State Department reported that the Indian government paid over 41,000 cash bounties to police officers for killing Sikhs. The police have abducted more than 50,000 young Sikhs, tortured and murdered them, then their bodies were declared unidentified and cremated. The only way for the Sikh Nation to live in peace and progress is to free Khalistan.

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India’s penchant for false flag operations by Brig.(Retd) Asif Haroon Raja

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

India’s penchant for false flag operations

Asif Haroon Raja

 

 

 

 

India’s notorious intelligence agency RAW has mastered the art of spy warfare and has earned an ill-repute of interfering in neighboring countries through covert means for the achievement of India’s sinister objectives. It carries out covert and psychological operations to weaken target countries and create conducive conditions for the Indian military to deliver the hammer on the internally weakened foe in war. Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldive, Bhutan, Sikkim have all been lacerated by RAW. And now it is actively involved in three zones of Pakistan using Afghanistan, Iran and London as bases of operation. Among the many tools employed to unravel the target, RAW employs the tool of false flag operation to put the blame of the crime committed by India at the doorstep of its foe to build pressure and to defame its opponent. RAW has been resorting to this immoral activity against Pakistan since long.

RAW in complicity with former KGB masterminded the creation of Bangladesh. In January 1971, RAW conducted a false flag operation in the form of hijacking of Ganga passenger airplane from India to Lahore supposedly by Kashmiri militants. Purpose behind it was to cut off east-west air flights of Pakistan so as to give free hand to Mujibur Rehman and his cronies to speed up its secession plan and create Bangladesh. Once Mujib created a state within state in East Pakistan in March 1971 and soaked the streets of Dacca and other major towns of East Pakistan with non-Bengalis blood with the help of Indian trained, equipped and brainwashed Mukti Bahini, Pakistan had to send reinforcements through long circuitous air route via Colombo to restore law and order. East Pakistan remained cut off from West Pakistan till the very end and enabled Indian armed forces to barge in against a small marooned and fatigued military force heavily involved in fighting province wide insurgency for nine months. Battle of East Pakistan had been won on the psychological plane before the military instrument was applied.

In 1999, an Indian plane was hijacked to Kabul. The then Indian foreign minister Jaswant Singh carried out negotiations while the ruling Taliban became the mediators. Maulana Azhar Mahmood, leader of Jaish-e-Muhammad involved in Jihad in occupied Kashmir and three others jailed in India were released in exchange of releasing the passengers and the plane. This event gave a handle to India to intensify its propaganda that Pakistan was supporting terrorism in Kashmir and India was a victim of cross border terrorism.

Chittisinghpura incident was played in occupied Kashmir on the occasion of visit of Bill Clinton to India in March 2000. A dozen Sikhs were gunned down by RAW operatives but the blame was put on Kashmiri Mujahideen and Pakistan. Objectives were to present Kashmir freedom movement as terrorism, Pakistan as abettor of terrorism and to antagonise Sikhs against Pakistan.

Terror attack on Indian Parliament by a handful of militants on December 13, 2001 was again a false flag operation to extract concessions from Pakistan. Indian propagandists termed the attack as another 9/11 and blamed Pakistan even before carrying out preliminary investigations. India carried out biggest ever deployment of Indian forces along the entire length of the border and activation of forward air bases and moving forward naval battle ships in the high seas. Pakistan military responded with equal grit and determination and forced the fire breathing Indian military to pull back after 10 months military standoff. However, on the political plane, Gen Musharraf gave in to Indo-US pressure.

In order to appease India, he banned six Kashmir-focussed Jihadi groups, ceased their funds, thinned out troops in Azad Kashmir and took effective measures to prevent movement across the Line of Control (LoC). Pakistan also allowed India to build a fence all along the LoC and fortify it. Kashmir desk was made redundant. (This had been done earlier on in 1995-97 when uprising in occupied Kashmir had peaked and Pakistan opted for reconciliation and composite dialogue). This unwise policy had reduced the combat strength of Kashmiri freedom fighters from 15000 to 1500 when Kargil venture was launched). Another fall out was that RAW with the help of Mossad succeeded in penetrating Harkatul Mujahideen and several leading Jihadi groups in Kashmir to defame Kashmiri freedom fighters. Faran group was RAW created which targeted foreigners in occupied Kashmir. India then adopted draconian measures to break the movement.

Musharraf gave a unilateral commitment to India that he will not allow Pakistan soil to be used for cross border terrorism against India or occupied Kashmir, or Afghanistan. All these one-sided concessions were doled out to please USA, appease India and to induce India to sign a peace treaty and resume composite dialogue. Pakistan is paying a very heavy price for those myopic decisions. India silenced the eastern front and made our leaders swim in the pool of smugness that all core issues including Kashmir will be resolved through talks. Having duped them, India then activated western front by opening up four Pakistan-specific Indian Consulates and deploying 14 intelligence units in Afghanistan. Indian Consulates in Zahidan, Siestan and Mashad also became operative in Baluchistan.

From 2001 till 2008, all acts of terror taking place in India which included Samjhota Express train blasts killing over 50 Pakistanis, blasts in Mecca mosque Hyderabad and mosque in Malegaon were all put in the basket of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Pakistan. Purpose was to keep Pakistan under pressure; establish a link between LeT and ISI and brand the latter as a terror abetting outfit. This was done despite the fact that LeT was operating in occupied Kashmir and had been banned in 2003 and its offshoot Jamaat ud Dawa was operating as an educational/technical/charitable institution under Hafiz Saeed in bustling town of Muredke, which was open for all.

Mumbai attacks by ten terrorists on November 26, 2008 was yet another false flag operation designed to achieve several objectives. It was aimed at deflecting the attention of the world from occupied Kashmir where armed movement had suddenly transformed into unarmed movement after Amarnath land issue and had flabbergasted the Indian policy makers; to halt composite dialogue which had covered ground and had reached a stage of taking decisions; to get LeT declared as terrorist organization by the UN and the US; to brand ISI as a rogue organization; to carryout air strikes against alleged training camps in Muredke and Azad Kashmir; and lastly to destabilise Karachi with the help of MQM and TTP

 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Directs RAW’s Terrorism Against Pakistan

 

 

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The other important objective was to get rid of Maharashtra chief inspector of anti-terrorism Hemant Karkare who had made a stunning revelation that Hindu terrorist group Abhinov Bharat and some other groups under the patronage of Indian military intelligence were directly involved in acts of terror from 2000 to 2008. He had gathered sufficient evidence to get them convicted and punished. In this, Lt Col Srikant Purohit was the main character, who confessed that he was involved in bombing of Samjhota Express. Absconding Jatin Chatterjee belonging to Abhinov Bharat was arrested for his involvement in Mecca Mosque blast that had left 9 people dead.

Karkare was bumped off in Mumbai on the night of November 26, 2008. The case compiled by Karkare has been dumped even after Satish Varma of Home Ministry of Manmohan administration submitted affidavit in the Indian court that Hindu terrorists were involved in acts of terror. Hindu priest Aseemanand was another culprit who confessed to the magistrate on December 18, 2010 of his involvement in Samjhota Express incident and other terror acts. He has been released on bail. Former Indian Home Minister Suchil Kumar’s article published in Washington Post dated January 20, 2013 gave detailed account of Hindu terrorism in India. There are over 100 Hindu terror groups in India under the patronage of RSS, Bajrang Dal, VHP, Shiv Sena and BJP, all part of Sangh Parivar who have communalized Indian politics and unleashed forces of terrorism. They are patronised by RAW and Indian Military Intelligence to promote Hindutva in India. None has been added in the UN or US terror lists.

Dialogue suspended in the aftermath of Mumbai attacks have yet not restarted since India has made terrorism and not Kashmir as the core issue for discussion to promote peace and friendship between the two archrivals.

In January 2013, another drama of beheading of two Indian soldiers along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir was played up to reinvigorate cross border terrorism charge against Pakistan. It was alleged that the attackers dressed in uniform had come from Pakistan. This was made into an excuse to heat up the LoC and carryout merciless firing on the villages located along the LoC and the deployed Pakistani troops. Offensive statements were hurled by the then Army chief Gen VK Singh (the one who claimed to have raised and trained a special technical unit for cross border terrorism in Pakistan, and after retirement joined BJP). That was the year when the incident of Indian spy Sarabjit Singh awarded death sentence since long was drummed up when he was killed by a prison-mate in Kot Lakhpat jail. In reaction, Pakistani Sanaullah Niazi interned in Jammu jail and set to get released was murdered by Hindu prison-mate at the behest of RAW.

After the change of government in India in June 2014, when Nawaz Sharif attended Modi’s coronation ceremony in Delhi and extended a hand of friendship, it was generally opined that the atmosphere had improved and the scheduled foreign secretary level talks in August 2014 would take place under better atmosphere. India however cancelled the talks on the flimsy plea as to why Pak High Commissioner in Delhi had invited the Kashmiri Hurriyat leaders whereas it was a norm. This act infuriated the Indian leaders and on the false pretext that Pak soldiers had carried out ceasefire violation in Kashmir heated up the border and undertook massive firing and shelling all along the LoC as well as Working Boundary in Sialkot sector from August onwards till as late as last quarter of 2015. This offensive military posture was further made vicious by acrimonious statements of Indian political leaders and vandalism of Shiv Sena activists against Pakistani sports persons, media persons, artists, book writers and exhibition holders in India.

During this period, three false flag operations were carried out to keep the charge of terrorism against Pakistan alive. One was in the high seas across Gujarat coast by declaring Pakistani fishing boat as terror boat and destroying it. Indian DG Coast Guard revealed the whole truth for which he was sacked. The next was a manipulated drama in which three gunmen dressed in Army uniforms allegedly crossed the border, and opened fire on a bus and then attacked a police station in Dina Nagar, Gurdaspur District on July 27, 2015. This was followed by another one in Udhampur on August 5 in which two terrorists attacked a BSF convoy. India blamed Pakistan for both but the ill-conceived dramas backfired.

Now the banned Jaish-e-Muhammad has been blamed for the recent attack on Pathankot airbase on January 2, 2016. This was done without carrying out preliminary operations and tackling the eight terrorists. It took the Indian security forces which included commandoes and army four days to clear the airbase. India has been unable to give an explanation to such a poor response particularly when information about the impending attack had been received two days before and 200 commandoes had been deployed for the security of airbase, counter terrorism force and internal security force inside the base kept on high alert and the deployed infantry division made more vigilant along the border.

Indian national adviser Ajit Doval who was personally overlooking the counter operation came under pungent criticism on his abject failure. He is to be held responsible for a blotched up false flag operation if it was so, while Indian security forces are to be blamed for their inept response action. Although Pakistan is extending full cooperation, it is suspected that Pathankot attack was engineered to counter the heavy dozier of RAW’s involvement in FATA and Balochistan handed over to the UN by Pakistan and also to find an excuse to put off dialogue.

India is extremely concerned about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which she says is unacceptable. One cannot over rule the possibility of another false flag operation by RAW on a bigger scale to give India a reason to carry out yet another massive deployment like in 2002 and force Pakistan to do the same at a time when the Army is heavily engaged in the three conflict zones and is also taking care of the CPEC while the politicians are squabbling over petty matters and Pak media is spreading gloom.

The writer is a retired Brig, defence analyst/columnist/book writer, Director Measac Research Centre, Director Board of Governors. He is a Defence Analyst and among founding Members of Pakistan Think Tank.

asifharoonraja@gmail.com

 

 

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India’s Offensive-Defensive Doctrine By Sajjad Shaukat

 

India’s Offensive-Defensive Doctrine

By Sajjad Shaukat

Since the leader of the ruling party BJP Narendra Modi became Prime Minister of India, various developments like unprecedented rise of Hindu extremism, persecution of minorities, forced conversions of other religious minorities into Hindus, ban on beef and cow slaughter, inclusion of Hindu religious books in curriculum, creation of war-like situation with Pakistan, unprovoked firing at the Line of Control in Kashmir and Working Boundary across Pak-Indian border clearly show that encouraged by the fundamentalist rulers, Hindu extremist outfits such as BJP, RSS VHP, Bajrang Dal and Shiv Sena including other similar parties have been promoting religious and ethnic chauvinism in India by propagating ideology of Hindutva (Hindu nationalism) which has become genesis of India’s offensive-defensive doctrine.

 

As part of its offensive-defensive doctrine, New Delhi is destabilizing Afghanistan—all regional states, while its major focus has always been towards Pakistan, a policy of weakening Pakistan. In this regard, double game is particularly part of India’s offensive-defensive doctrine.

 

In fact, Ajit Doval, the ex-spymaster who is now National Security Advisor of Indian Prime Minister Modi is the real author and controller of India’s offensive-defensive doctrine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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It is notable that on January, 20, this year, at least 21 persons were killed at Bacha Khan University in Khyber Pakhtunkha’s Charsadda town, when heavily-armed terrorists of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) entered the university and opened fire on them. Reliable sources disclosed that Indian consulate located in Jalalabad, Afghanistan played a key role in targeting the Bacha Khan University. The operatives of the Indian secret agency, RAW in connivance with Rahmatullah Nabil, the former director of Afghan intelligence agency, National Directorate of Security (NDS) and the TTP chief Mullah Fazlullah planned this assault. Indian consulate gave rupees 3 million to the Talban commander to arrange this brutal act at the university. Ajit Doval directed this attack.

 

While, the Army Public School Peshawar—carnage incident resulted in killing of more than 140 children. It was also carried out by Ajit Doval’s stooges in connivance with the TTP, as he is fond of manipulating radicalized proxies.

 

In order to implement Indian offensive-defensive doctrine, Ajit Doval also advise to arrange various terror attacks and to shift the blame game to Pakistan. In this respect, on January 2, this year, a terror attack at Indian Air Force Base in Pathankot was preplanned under his directions. Without any investigation and evidence, since the first day of the incident, Indian media and top civil and military officials claimed that the attackers had arrived from Pakistani Punjab’s Bahawalpur district, and had links with Jaish-e-Mohammad and Pakistan’s primary intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). But, despite Islamabad’s cooperation in the joint investigation, New Delhi failed in providing any proof of Pakistan’s involvement in the Pathankot incident. India orchestrated that drama to postpone secretary-level talks with Pakistan, scheduled to be held in Islamabad on January 15, 2016.

 

Nevertheless, India is not serious in advancing Pak-India dialogue process, agreed upon between the two countries during Indian Prime Minister Modi’s recent visit to Pakistan. Under the cover of Pathankot episode, New Delhi wanted to postpone the secretary-level parleys as part of its delaying tactics in settling various issues, especially the Kashmir dispute with Islamabad.

 

As mater of fact, like other past episodes, as part of Doval’s offensive-defensive doctrine, Indian intelligence agencies, especially RAW have themselves arranged terror attacks at the Pathankot airbase including some other terror incidents to fulfil a number of anti-Pakistan designs.

 

As regards the case of cross-border terrorism, India has shown ambivalent approach which can be judged from some other developments. In this connection, on July 27, 2015, three gunmen dressed in army uniforms killed at least seven people, including three civilians and four policemen in the Indian district of Gurdaspur, Punjab. Without any investigation, Indian high officials and media started accusing Pakistan, its banned militant outfits and intelligence agencies for the Gurdaspur incident. Indian Police remarked that the attackers were from Indian-held Kashmir, and some said that they were Sikh separatists, while Indian Punjab police chief claimed that the three gunmen were Muslim, but as yet unidentified. Contradicting speculations, India’s Home Minister Rajnath Singh told parliament that the gunmen came from Pakistan.

 

Khalistan Movement Chief Manmohan Singh stated that the Gurdaspur incident is “a conspiracy of Indian secret agency RAW to defame Pakistan.”

 

Notably, on December 31, 2014, prior to the US President Obama’s second visit to New Delhi, Indian intelligence agencies orchestrated a boat drama to defame Pakistan, allegedly reporting that a Pakistani fishing boat as a Pakistan-based outfit group Lashkar-e-Taiba was intercepted by Indian Coast Guards, off the coast of Porebandar, Gujarat. And Indian Coast Guard crew set the boat on fire and it exploded. The Indian government had claimed that it had foiled another 26/11-type attack of Mumbai. But, its reality exposed Indian terrorism, when some Indian high officials admitted that there was no such boat which came from Pakistan.

 

As regards Afghanistan, India is playing a double game in accordance with the offensive-defensive doctrine of Ajit Doval. RAW has well-established its network in Afghanistan and is in connivance with the TTP and Islamic State group (ISIS or Daesh). On January 13, 2015, at least seven personal of the Afghan security forces died during the suicide attack which targeted the Pakistani consulate in Jalalabad. ISIS claimed responsibility for the terror assault.

 

The attack, which coincided with efforts to restart the stalled peace process with Taliban insurgents and ease diplomatic tensions between India and Pakistan, added a dangerous new element to Afghanistan’s volatile security mix. In this context, delegates from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States had met to try to resurrect efforts to end nearly 15 years of bloodshed in Afghanistan. However, we need to know the real peace disruptors in Afghanistan.

 

In this respect, in the recent past, cordial relations were established between Pakistan and Afghanistan when Afghan President Ghani had realized that Afghanistan and Pakistan were facing similar challenges of terrorism and would combat this threat collectively.

While, it is misfortune that on direction of New Delhi and like the former regime of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan’s present rulers have also started accusing Pakistan of cross-border terrorism. In this context, after hours of the Taliban captured Kunduz city, on September 28, 2015, during his address to the UNO General Assembly, Afghanistan’s chief executive Abdullah Abdullah blamed Islamabad for carrying out cross-border attacks and destabilizing Afghanistan.

 

Differences exist between chief executive Abdullah Abdullah and President Ashraf Ghani, as the former wants cordial relations with New Delhi at the cost of Afghanistan and the latter prefers Islamabad, because Pak-Afghan stability is interrelated.

 

It is mentionable that on December 10, President Ghani accepted the resignation of Rahmatullah Nabil as director of the Afghan intelligence agency, NDS, after developing differences of the spymaster with him over Ghani’s move to attend the regional conference in Islamabad.

 

And Prime Minister Sharif and President Ghani also showed their determination that their countries would cooperate in fighting the threat of ISIS.

 

As the US is playing double game with Islamabad, because it is the only nuclear country in the Islamic World, which irritates America and Israel. Hence, secret agents of American CIA, Israeli Mossad and Indian RAW which are well-penetrated in ISIS are making efforts to weaken Tibetan regions of China, Iran and especially Pakistan’s province of Balochistan by arranging the subversive activities, promoting acrimonious sense of dissent, political volatility, sectarian violence and arousing sentiments of separatism.

 

Here, it is of particular attention that the foreign-backed Baloch separatist leader, Manan Baloch, the secretary general of the Baloch National Movement and number 2 of the Balochistan Liberation Front was killed by the security forces on January 30, 2016. It is a great achievement, as on the directions of his external handlers, Manan was criticizing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and was provoking the Baloch people against this agreement.

 

Again, in case of Afghanistan, there are several groups of Al-Qaeda, ISIS and Taliban like the TTP. Some of them are being used by secret agencies like CIA, Mossad and RAW to obtain the collective and individual designs of their countries against Pakistan and Middle Eastern countries. India and Israel which want to prolong the stay of the US-led NATO troops in Afghanistan which have become the center of covert activities, are exploiting their dual policy, especially of America against Pakistan, China and Iran. Particularly, terrorists of TTP which are strategic assets of the CIA, RAW and Mossad have claimed responsibility for several terror attacks inside Pakistan, including the recent ones in Balochistan, Karachi and in Afghanistan.

 

In fact, in collusion with Afghanistan’s NDS, particularly, RAW has set up its secret network in Afghanistan, and is fully assisting cross-border incursions and terror-activities in various regions of Pakistan through Baloch separatist elements and anti-Pakistan groups like Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA), Jundullah (God’s soldiers) and TTP.

 

It is an undeniable fact that Ajit Doval’s cronies are creating law and order problems in Balochistan. Doval in his recent lecture clearly threatened that Islamabad will lose Balochistan—a video is a clear confession by India that it is behind the separatists in the province of Balochistan and has a huge network of its operatives against the state of Pakistan.

 

Particularly, Indian nexus with TTP leaders like Hakimullah Masood and Mulla Fazalullah has been proved by the recent revelation of the TTP militant Latifullah Mahsood regarding the incident of Army Public School Peshawar and exploitation of Baloch sub-nationalists. It has also exposed Ajeet Doval’s offensive-defensive doctrine—anti-Pakistan statements of India’s BJP leadership, while pointing out that New Delhi is the main spoiler of peace in Afghanistan, and is still manipulating the militants of TTP, ISIS, ETIM etc. against Pakistan, China and Afghanistan.

 

It is misfortune that with the start of 2016, frequency of terrorist incidents has increased manifold in Afghanistan, indicating the frustration of the spoiler (India), after her proxies were uprooted from Pakistani soil. Moreover, Afghan people also feel wary of protracted proxy warfare, strife and lawlessness in their country and are desirous for peace. But, India does not want it.

 

Besides, Indian media has created frenzy and volley of allegations against Pakistan. It is a true reflection of Indian establishment and Hindu mindset which are intolerant to any improvement in the bilateral relations between both neighboring countries.

 

Nonetheless, if not checked in time by the US-led western powers, India’s offensive-defensive doctrine will destabilize Pakistan and Afghanistan including the whole region, jeopardizing the political and economic interests of America and NATO countries which demand stability and peace in the region.

 

Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations

 

Email: sajjad_logic@yahoo.com

 

 

 

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Pakistan’s ailments by Brig (Retd).Asif Haroon Raja

Pakistan’s ailments

Asif Haroon Raja

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pakistan is inflicted with large numbers of diseases and some of the reasons for these afflictions are leadership crisis, feudalism, weak governance, financial mismanagement, rampant corruption and crime, weak judicial system, lack of accountability, non-adherence to rule of law, political polarization, tense civil-military relations, provincialism, lack of nationalism and above all India’s meddlesome role which wants to keep Pakistan politically unstable, economically weak and militarily fragile. These diseases have given rise to religious extremism and terrorism and impeded Pakistan’s progress. Among the ailments, corruption has become cancerous and is contaminating the moral turpitude of the society. In order to control this cancerous disease, our leaders have been making some token efforts but none succeeded in curing it since all went for symptoms and none made any effort to cure it.

PML whose leadership was wholly from India soon got factionalised and lost its shine in 1954 after getting defeated at the hands of Jugto Front in East Pakistan. It made no effort to end feudalism and absentee landlordism and to integrate the society. East-West wrangling over power and security concerns impelled our leaders to accord higher priority to defence over development. To deal with corruption among the politicians, Liaquat Ali Khan introduced PRADA. Ayub Khan enforced EBDO to keep parasitic politicians out of power but couldn’t keep them out for long. Gen Yahya Khan sacked 303 officials to put sense in corrupt bureaucracy but the effort proved elusive. He presided over the breakup of Pakistan into two in 1971. ZA Bhutto sacked large numbers of senior military officers and set up Hamoodur Rahman Commission to probe East Pakistan debacle to rein in military establishment but failed. He created dreaded FSF and opened up Dalai Camp to put fear into the hearts of his political opponents but couldn’t. In his bid to alleviate the poor he inculcated indiscipline in the society. His promotion of secularism antagonized the Islamists and widened Islamic-secular divide.

In his bid to discipline the unruly Jayalas, Gen Ziaul Haq setup Qazi courts and whipped the offenders but it made little difference except for inculcating never ending hatred of the PPP against him. During his tenure religious extremism and sectarianism gathered pace due to seeping in of Kalashnikov and drug cultures from Afghanistan. During Benazir’s two tenures corruption increased. PML-N in its second tenure in 1990s established Ehtesab Bureau to deal with large-scale corruption cases of PPP leaders and affiliated bureaucrats but the judiciary couldn’t convict any. Era of 1990s heightened political polarization. Gen Musharraf formed much trumpeted NAB but soon it gave in to political expediency and NAB became a tool to garner political support and to victimize opponents. His pro-western policies, compromise on Kashmir and promotion of secularism under the garb of enlightened moderation provoked the Islamists and intensified religious extremism.   

Military operation was launched in Sindh by Nawaz in 1992 to deal with dacoits and criminals but it was halted midstream by Nawaz Sharif owing to political expediency. Decision was taken despite knowing that MQM was linked with RAW and recovering Jinnahpur maps and flags from MQM unit offices. This lapse proved very expensive. Another Rangers-Police operation was launched during Benazir’s second tenure in 1995/96 but it too was called off before breaking the back of criminals affiliated with MQM. Besides lack of political will, other reason for failure of the two operations to rid Karachi of criminals was poor performance of the judiciary which let off all arrested criminals for want of evidence. The MQM known to be having an armed wing and involved in heinous crimes since 1984 remained in government in Sindh and in the centre as a coalition partner with PPP and PML-N all along. MQM gained extra ordinary strength during the nine year rule of Gen Musharraf. His worst sin was issuance of infamous NRO in October 2007 essentially meant to cleanse PPP leadership and bring the party back to power. Not only the corrupt leaders of PPP indicted in corruption charges were absolved, 8000 MQM leaders and workers involved in heinous crimes were also pardoned. As a consequence, the MQM in league with PPP wrecked havoc in Sindh during their rule from 2008 till March 2013. RAW in league with MQM and helped by PPP choked the jugular vein to suffocate Pakistan.

Whatever actions taken against corruption in the past were at best cosmetic. No consistent effort was ever put in to root out this evil which has contaminated the moral turpitude of the society as whole. Whatever efforts made were at best aimed at treating the symptoms and not curing the disease. The elites involved in mega corruption were hardly touched. Most were let off after plea bargain. As a result, fascination for corruption kept growing and made individuals and few families dirty rich, emptied national kitty, made the country debt ridden and dependent upon foreign aid, and made the poor poorer. Corruption scaled new heights during PPP-MQM-ANP coalition black rule from March 2008 till March 2013. NAB was made toothless and accountability set aside on the plea of national reconciliation. Loot and plunder became a norm, corruption was institutionalized, merit axed and cronyism promoted. Only those who were adept in mal practices were given key jobs and the honest sidelined. As a consequence, corruption scaled new heights. State corporations became non-productive and railway, PIA and Steel Mills became white elephants. Foreign debts doubled, economy reached the verge of collapse. Pakistan suffered from worst energy crisis and was seen as a failing and irrelevant state. 

The ones rolling in wealth began to finance mafias, terrorists and criminal gangs to further multiply their ill-gotten wealth and protect their political power and clout. Karachi became the major den of these evil practices. Absence of security and justice forced business magnates to migrate to other countries. Karachi, which is the economic hub-centre of Pakistan, began to die a slow economic death. 2013 elections reduced PPP from  national to regional party but still it learnt no lesson and not only retained aged and inept CM Qaim Ali Shah but also continued with its looting spree. Although the MQM remote controlled by Altaf Hussain from London since 1992 lost its blackmailing power for the first time after it was not made a coalition partner in Sindh and in the Centre, it continued with its criminal activities and the Sindh government looked the other way.

It was owing to constantly deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi where the daily toll of deaths at the hands of unknown target killers was 10-15, that intelligence based and Rangers led operation was launched in September 2013 with the blessings of regional political parties. Substantial progress has been achieved by law enforcing agencies in Karachi against terrorists and criminals. Majority of nabbed criminals belong to MQM. Lower tier MQM leaders have disclosed the involvement of their top leadership in terrorism and criminal activities.  Incidents of target killings, kidnappings, extortion street crimes have been radically brought down. RAW agents are being arrested and MQM’s connection with RAW since early 1990s has been established. RAW is deeply entrenched in Sindh and it has of late shifted its base from Afghanistan to coastal belt of Pakistan where it has large numbers of brainwashed Pakistani fishermen who had been caught from the high seas and then released after months of detention and indoctrination. Urban terrorism in Karachi is yet to be fully controlled owing to presence of RAW agents and Rs 230 billion annual financial terrorism spearheaded by PPP and MQM.

While the noose around the neck of MQM has been tightened, the PPP leadership which is part of the problem is yet to be collared. Arrest of some leading lights of PPP particularly Dr Asim, blue-eyed boy of Zardari, involved in corruption and their confessions have brought to light the involvement of higher leadership of PPP in financial terrorism. JIT has collected sufficient evidence, which has rattled PPP leadership. In the wake of impediments created by Sindh government and objections raised on acts of Rangers after the raid on Sindh Control Board, NAB and FIA was married up with Rangers in Sindh and operation accelerated to nab bigwigs involved in corruption and financial terrorism. This move has alarmed Sindh Government and made Asif Zardari, now based in Dubai/London nervous. He first fired his guns against the military but now he is targeting the government. PPP leaders are aping MQM by making hue and cry and are threatening the government of dire consequences. Both the MQM and PPP leaders are wailing as to why their workers/leaders are being arrested on charges of terrorism, criminal acts and corruption and pushed against the wall. They say why only Sindh politicians/officials are being targeted and why not Punjab politicians/officials.      

On one hand corruption is eating into the vitals of the country like termite; terrorism has shaken the foundations of Pakistan. Terrorism is relatively a new phenomenon which was deliberately pushed into Pakistan after 9/11 by scheming foreign powers harboring dangerous designs. Ongoing efforts till recent have remained focused against terrorism while other hazards were looked the other way under the flawed concept of national reconciliation. FATA, Swat and Baluchistan and later on Karachi became the hub of terrorism. Terrorists were financed, equipped and trained by RAW and other anti-Pakistan intelligence agencies as well as local elites. Operation Zarb-e-Azb launched in June 2014 in the wake of terrorist attack on Karachi airport and accelerated after Peshawar School tragedy on December 16, 2014 succeeded in dismantling main base camp of terrorists in North Waziristan. Last toehold of militants in Shawal Valley in Datta Khel district is being cleared. Likewise separatist movement in Balochistan has to a large extent been defused. Abettors and sympathizers of terrorists residing in urban centres are also being taken to task. National Action Plan is gradually being implemented although the progress is slow. External and internal financing has prevented security forces from bottling up terrorism.

Notwithstanding the fact that Pak security forces have dismantled the network, command & control centres, communication network, training grounds of militants in FATA and broken their back, sporadic acts of terror are still taking place since their bases are still active in Kunar, Nuristan and Nangarhar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Absconding Fazlullah and Khalid Khurasani are being fully patronized by Afghan NDS and elements of Afghan Army. Latest attack on Badaber camp was planned by Khurasani. Former President Hamid Karzai and Dr Abdullah who are pro-India are supporting cross border terrorism. President Ashraf Ghani wants to get closer to Pakistan but he is weak since he lacks political roots. After few months of bonhomie, he has started to speak the language of Karzai and Abdullah against Pakistan. India has a big hand in keeping Afghan-Pakistan relations tense. RAW is making frantic efforts to further destabilize troubled regions of Pakistan and to scuttle under-construction China-Pakistan economic corridor since it knows its commissioning will make Pakistan strong and prosperous.It knows that CPEC will defeat Indo-US plan to encircle Pakistan and China and foil establishment of the US Asia pivot. Besides covert operations, India has also heated up the LoC in Kashmir and working boundary in Sialkot sector and has adopted a highly belligerent posture to overawe Pakistan.           

Opposition leader Khurshid Shah is advising the military to focus its attention towards the borders rather than towards the misdoings of political forces. Slogan of ‘democracy is in danger’ is being raised. In simple words, corrupt politicians want a free hand to indulge in mal practices and to promote sham democracy. They are least bothered about India’s aggression along the LoC and Working Boundary or about national interests but are extremely worried that their selfish interests which are in jeopardy. The Army chief wants to expose all faces abetting, harboring, financing and helping the terrorists while the MQM and PPP wanting to hide and protect them as well as their ill-gotten wealth are making concerted efforts to fail the operation or as a minimum slow it down.

The government on the other hand is continuing to follow self-defeating policy of appeasement towards India and has yet to take tangible steps to expose Indian jingoism and terrorism in Pakistan despite having tons of proofs of involvement of RAW in Balochistan and Karachi. For unknown reasons it has been reluctant to take up the case to the UN and to mount a diplomatic and media offensive to expose the ugly face of India. It is high time an astute and seasoned Foreign Minister is appointed. Internally, pressure generated by PPP, MQM as well as PTI is unnerving Nawaz Sharif and he is fearful that political parties are ganging up to de-seat him. Tied to Charter of Democracy with PPP, he wants to terminate Karachi operation before the big fish are netted particularly because of his apprehension that sooner than later the hand of NAB will fall on PML-N as well. After-all, all have been bathing in the same tub. He is finding himself in a fix because of pressure from military establishment and the public both wanting to take Operation Zarb-e-Azb as well as Karachi operation to their logical end. Gen Raheel Sharif has on several occasions expressed his resolve not to rest till complete elimination of terrorism and those promoting it.

Gen Raheel’s growing popularity because of his exemplary personal conduct is another upsetting factor for Nawaz. He has not forgotten his rough experiences with Gen Kakar and Gen Musharraf and cannot altogether rule out repeat of similar action, particularly when the people and vested groups want the Army to takeover and rid the country of multiple diseases. It is now to be seen how long Nawaz will remain firm and aligned with the Army against the PPP and MQM. It is in his interest and Pakistan’s interest to back up the military engaged in battling vermin and foreign paid militants incapacitating Pakistan. Towards this end, the government should make strenuous efforts to operationalise all 20 points of NAP as soon as possible and help the Army in knocking off all obstacles in its way and in catching the big fish to make Karachi peaceful.

Delay in this will benefit the MQM the most, which is busy poisoning the minds of Urdu speaking Karachiites that the operation is Muhajir specific to hand over political power to other communities. There is a need to revisit 18th Amendment particularly after Zardari and Altaf outbursts, both playing Sindhi and Muhajir cards respectively. Either the germs of regionalism and fissiparous tendencies in smaller provinces should be killed by making efforts to integrate the divided society, or else 18th Amendment which is recipe for fragmentation of Pakistan, should be set aside. Steps must be taken to prevent cross border terrorism from Afghan soil. Strategy to pullout regular troops from war on terror must be worked out. Kashmir issue must be highlighted with full force. To effectively counter the internal/external challenges it is important to put own house in order, gear up accountability process and keep civil-military relations harmonious.

The writer is a retired Brig, war veteran/defence analyst/columnist/author of five books, Director Measac Research Centre, Director Board of Governors TFP. asifharoonraja@gmail.com         

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