India and Sub-nationalists are Hand in Glove

By Sajjad Shaukat

Pakistan is a peace loving country and has been subjected to worse kind of terrorism. All amicable efforts to negotiate with the terrorist outfits have failed. In fact, Indian covert and overt activities against the federation of Pakistan had led to the separation of the former East Pakistan in 1971. Now, India has been promoting sub-nationalism in Baluchistan, Khyber Paktunkhwa, Sindh and even among the Karachiates (Mohajirs). New Delhi has been exploiting sub-nationalist elements locally and abroad as proxies against Pakistan.

These sub-nationalist parties have never protested against the killing of innocent women, children and men at the hands of their militant groups. Has ever, journalist community questioned them about this aspect? These terrorist groups abduct, kidnap and then kill innocent Balochs, Sindhis and Punjabis to strengthen their case of missing persons and extra-judicial killings to distort the image of Pakistan and its security agencies abroad.

To affect the flourishing relations of Pakistan and China, Baloch secessionists have been directed to step up their activities on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Indian secret agency RAW has created a heavily funded China-Pakistan specific desk to sabotage growing Pak-China- Afghanistan relations.

Since April 20, 2015 when Islamabad and Beijing signed 51 agreements for cooperation in various fields, related to CPEC project, India which is hand in glove with the sub-nationalists has accelerated terror-attacks inside Pakistan to discourage this project.

In this regard, on May 13, this year, at least 45 people were killed when gunmen brutally opened fire on a bus of the Ismaili community in Karachi. Ahmed Marwat, a spokesman for Jundullah which is the affiliated group of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the bus attack. Without any doubt, Karachi bus incident is a handy work of RAW to sabotage the CPEC by showing that if Pakistan government is not able to provide security to its citizens, how it can protect CPEC. Ismailis belong to Hunza (Gilgit/Baltistan) or have a spiritual linkage with this area, are Pakistanis. The CPEC would also originate from the same region. Besides, on April 11, this year, gunmen killed 20 laborers at a dam construction site in the Turbat district of Baluchistan. On May 29, 20 people were killed when unknown militants opened fire at the kidnapped passengers in Mastung area of Balochistan—after abduction of two buses.

India knows that the establishment of CPEC between deep Gwadar seaport of Balochistan and the historic Silk Road city in western regions-Xinjiang of China will connect Gilgit-Baltistan through Khunjerab Pass. Beijing would also build an international airport at Gwadar, while the roads infrastructure in Gwadar would link the communication network of rest of the country to facilitate transportation of goods. As New Delhi has been opposing this Pak-China project which will make Pakistan an economic power, hence, it has been destabilizing Pakistan by creating unrest in the Balochistan province.

Undoubtedly, some foreign anti-Pakistan forces, especially RAW are making efforts to weaken Pakistan, and especially Balochistan by promoting acrimonious sense of dissent, political volatility, sectarian violence, deteriorating law and order situation and arousing sentiments of separatism. India is leading terrorist activities in the Balochistan by using the soil of Afghanistan, harbouring and financing terrorists and projecting them as freedom fighters.

In this respect, Dr Allah Nazar is a terrorist hailing from Awaran, Balochistan. He is being directly supported by Indian RAW to commit heinous crimes against humanity, requiring state reaction to safeguard the life and property of its citizens. Killing men, women and children, attacks on women university students, armed forces, members of the law-enforcing agencies and blowing up of electric pylons as well as gas pipelines are part of the anti-Pakistan scheme. In a sane society, how such acts could be counted as deeds of a liberation movement.

While, in May, 2013, a day before Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived in Islamabad; Chinese engineers being driven through Clifton Block-1 in Karachi escaped a major bomb attack. As regards anti-China diplomacy, Afghanistan has become a hub from where external secret agencies like RAW and Israeli Mossad have been assisting subversive activities in other parts of Pakistan—particularly in Balochistan through their affiliated militant groups like TTP, BLA, BLF etc. including Jundullah at the cost of Pakistan, China and Iran. In the past few years, they abducted and killed many Chinese and Iranian nationals in Pakistan, and claimed responsibility for their terror-acts.

It is notable that Indian former Army Chief Gen. VK Singh openly admitted that during his tenure, he supervised special army unit, Tactical Support Division (TSD) on the instructions of the then defence minister to sponsor subversive in Pakistan, particularly Balochistan.

Although New Delhi has been destabilizing all regional states through its well-planned and deliberated strategy, however, its major focus has always been towards Pakistan.

In this connection, Indian Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar, while using the Hindi phrase “kante se kanta nikalna’ (removing a thorn with a thorn) assertively said, on May 23, this year, “We have to neutralise terrorists through terrorists only…why does my soldier have to do it…the issue could not be discussed beyond this…there are certain things that I obviously cannot discuss here.”

The Indian defence minister’s open statement has proved that India is sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan, and RAW is playing this nefarious role.

It is mentionable that unlike the Indian-backed Afghan President Hamid Karzai, President Ashraf Ghani realized that Afghanistan and Pakistan are facing similar challenges of terrorism and will combat this threat collectively. During the visit of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and army chief General Raheel Sharif to Kabul, on May 18, this year, the two countries signed the security agreement—Pakistan’s ISI and Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) to share intelligence and conduct coordinated operations against terrorists. Now, frequent visits of Pak-Afghan civil and military leaders to each other’s country also irritate New Delhi.

However, besides terror-assaults in various regions of Pakistan, simultaneously, sub-nationalist political parties have been activated to cry foul against CPEC and Chinese investment in Pakistan. For the purpose, SANA, WSI, WSC and other sub-nationalist organizations are directed to spit venomous propaganda against Pakistan by alleging so-called human rights abuses, killing of sub-nationalist elements in Balochistan, Sindh etc.

While, being a democratic country, Pakistan has never attempted any action against the sub-nationalists parties; however, the country has showed undaunted resolution to check militancy of all kinds.

In this context, Pakistan’s law-enforcing agencies in Balochistan have been carrying out action against terrorists like Allah Nazar, Marris and Bugtis who created “no go areas” and challenged the writ of the government.

Nevertheless, India which is hand in glove with the sub-nationalists continues exploiting these elements so as to weaken the federation of Pakistan.

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