India’s Plan for Another False Flag Operation to Blame Pakistan
By Sajjad Shaukat
Indian government is creating a narrative that there is a strong likelihood of a major terrorist attack from Pakistan in India before or on January 26, 2020. Every year, 26th of January is being celebrated by India as the Republic Day, while, the day is being observed by the Kashmiris on both side of the Line of Control (LoC) and all over the world, including their Pakistani brethren as the Black Day in protest against Indian illegal occupation of Kashmir.
Such fake narrative may be utilised for another possible false flag operation by Indian establishment to divert the attention of domestic outburst against the continued lockdown in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK), as since August 5, last year, Indian extremist Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government ended special status of the Jummu and Kashmir by abrogating articles 35A and 370 of the Constitution in a malicious attempt to turn Muslim majority into minority in the IOK. Setting aside the criticism of the UNO and Western entities, New Delhi has imposed more restrictions on the Kashmiris in the Indian Held Kashmir in wake of shortage of foods and even medicines for the patients. In order to hide human rights violations, communication services (Internet) have been cut off from the world and foreign journalists are not allowed to enter that region.
Besides, Indian fanatic rulers also started implementing the Indian Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 (CAA), passed by the Indian Parliament. The CAA (The National Register of Citizenship) is against the Muslim immigrants especially from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Despite criticism of the rights groups, foreign leaders, the UNO and moderate Hindus in wake of violent protests across India, Modi-led government has not withdrawn the CAA/NRC.
Notably, in the World Report 2020, Human Rights Watch said on January 14, this year, “The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Indian government’s actions over the past year have caused enormous suffering and rights violations…its unilateral revocation of Kashmir’s special constitutional status and the use of draconian laws to silence criticism…The Indian government, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, failed to properly enforce Supreme Court directives to prevent and investigate mob attacks, often led by BJP supporters, on religious minorities and other vulnerable communities…Muslims were also beaten and forced to chant Hindu slogans…India’s recent moves to implement a citizenship verification nationwide, including fast-tracking citizenship [even] for non-Muslims who migrated from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh before 2015 as highly exclusionary…National Register of Citizens across the country…list excluded nearly two million people, many of them Muslims, including many who have lived in India for years…verifications in an arbitrary and discriminatory manner that risked leaving millions virtually stateless.”
Moreover, Indian extremist rulers are also escalating tensions with Islamabad to divert attention from the drastic situation of the Indian Held Kashmir, and have continued shelling inside Pakistani side of Kashmir by violating the ceasefire agreement in relation to the LoC.
As regards another false flag operation, India’s plan to conduct it and to blame Islamabad in this respect has already been disclosed by Pakistani and Indian media.
In this connection, quoting Indian media, especially India’s NDTV, Pakistan’s many TV channels and daily newspapers pointed out on January 12, this year: “A Jammu and Kashmir police officer Davinder Singh, Deputy Superintendent of Police posted at the sensitive Srinagar International airport…decorated with the President’s medal for bravery was caught on Saturday [January 11, 2020] with two terrorists, travelling in a vehicle on the Srinagar-Jammu Highway. The terrorists were on their way to Delhi, police sources said…terrorist Naveed Babu…is accused of being involved in the killing of 11 non-local workers…in south Kashmir last year. The series of killings were carried out to drive non-locals out of Kashmir and target Kashmir’s apple industry after the scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status…Police sources say… Naveed Babu’s location was traced after he made a phone call to his brother…After arresting and interrogation of Davinder Singh and Naveed Babu, the police carried out multiple raids in Srinagar and South Kashmir and recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition stashed by Singh and other terrorists…Police sources say investigations are underway to find out why the terrorists were going to Delhi with the help of a police officer.”
Pakistani media clearly pointed out: “A decorated Indian police official was arrested, while transporting terrorists to the capital New Delhi in what Pakistani officials believes appears to be a ruined false flag terrorist operation….DSP Davinder Singh had risen steadily through the ranks of the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir [IOJ&K] security apparatus. He was accused of helping Kashmiri militants travel to New Delhi in a deadly attack on the Indian parliament in 2001. India quickly blamed Pakistan-based militant groups for the attack.”
However, Pakistan’s civil and military leaders, including top officials have repeatedly warned the international community about India’s sinister plans to stage a false flag terrorist operation and to accuse Islamabad in this regard, as it has done multiple times-assault on Indian Parliament on January 12, 2001-attack at Indian Air Force Base in Pathankot on January 2, 2016-simulaneous terror attacks in Mumbai on November 26, 2008 and terror assault in the Pulwama district of the IOK on February 14, 2019. Without any investigation and evidence regarding all these false flag operations, Indian media and high officials started blaming Pakistan’s intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and banned Islamist militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), including some other outfits and Kashmiris who are fighting for liberation of Kashmir in accordance with the UN resolutions, while brutal tactics of the Indian security forces have failed in crushing their struggle for right of self-determination. However, through previous false flag operations, Indian establishment not only wanted to gain sympathies of world community and defame Pakistan in the comity of nations but also to divert attention from internal problems.
It is of particular attention that on July 19, 2013, the Indian former home ministry and ex-investigating officer Satish Verma disclosed that terror attacks in Mumbai in November 26, 2008 and assault on Indian Parliament in January 12, 2001 were carried out by the Indian government to strengthen anti-terrorism laws.
In this context, exposing the nexus between BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the then Indian Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde revealed on January 20, 2013 that organized training camps run by the fundamentalist parties, RSS and BJP were promoting Hindu Terrorism. He also explained that these extremist parties were behind the Samjhauta Express, Meccca Masjid and Malegaon blasts. He added, “We will have to think about it (Saffron terrorism) seriously…Hindu extremist parties BJP and RSS were involved many times in Hindu Muslim violence in India, especially Gujarat and Babri masjid incident.”
The then India’s External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid endorsed Shinde’s statement, saying that it was based on facts. Indian Home Secretary R K Singh disclosed that during investigation the government had found ten names of the Hindu extremists, associated with RSS, who were involved in these terror attacks, including Ajmer Sharif.
It has clearly proved that Indian secret agencies; particularly RAW arranged various terror attacks to implicate Pakistan in order to obtain multiple sinister designs.
In this respect, lack of seriousness on India’s part to settle all disputes, especially Kashmir issue has compelled New Delhi to follow a self-contradictory strategy towards Islamabad. Hence, New Delhi earnestly found various pretexts of terror attacks to cancel peace talks with Pakistan, while shifting the blame game to Islamabad.
Nevertheless, regarding Indian prospective false flag operation, in August, last year, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan warned that India could do something sinister to discredit the freedom struggle in IOJ&K by elaborating: “I want to warn the international community that the Indian leadership will in all probability attempt a false flag operation to divert attention from its massive human rights violations and the unleashing of a reign of terror in IOJK.”
Addressing the Eleventh Advisory Council meeting at the Foreign Office on December 31, this year, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Quereshi has, once again, drawn the attention of important world capitals to the BJP-led by Prime Minister Modi government’s intentions of staging a false flag operation to divert the world attention from the grave human rights violations in India and the Occupied Kashmir.
Foreign Minister Quereshi also participated in the meeting of the UN Security Council on January 16, 2020, which has, again, discussed the prevailing grave situation in the Occupied Kashmir in the aftermath of the lockdown and gross human rights violation by Indian forces. As early as last month, both the prime minister and foreign minister, including Pakistan’s Army Chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajawa reiterated the warning–this time with a stern message for New Delhi to brace for a bitter reprisal for any military misadventure inside Pakistan, as India did in the aftermath of the false flag terror assault of Pulwama.
During his visit in New York, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Quereshi also met American high officials and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on January 17, 2020. Afterwards, in an interview with American broadcaster Fox News, he remarked that during discussions, especially with Pompeo, he explained that Pakistan facilitated a US dialogue with Taliban on the request of US President Donald Trump in a hope for peace and stability in the region. He asked Pompeo that “the US should withdraw troops from Afghanistan in a responsible manner and avoid repeating the mistakes from the past.” He also talked regarding “tensions in the Middle East and the human rights situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir.
It is noteworthy that Director General (DG) of Pakistan Army’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Maj-Gen. Asif Ghafoor said in a twitter message on January 14, 2019: “After failed drama of killing & mutilating a Kashmiri near LOC, ill-planned attempt for repeat of Delhi 2001/Mumbai 2008 type false flag looks failed. Hope results of investigations will be made public. Arrested ones will possibly be found listed in a jail.”
In his interview to a leading Pakistani TV channel, ISPR DG Maj- Gen. Asif Ghafoor stated on January 5, 2020 that he “has also read the statement of India’s new army chief Gen. Manoj Mukund” in which “he had threatened to carry out “preemptive strikes” in Pakistan and “this intent has adequately been demonstrated in our response during surgical strikes and Balakot operation…Pakistan’s crushing response to the botched Indian air strike in February, last year, in Balakot…Two Indian fighter jets were shot down by Pakistan in retaliation…The Pakistani military knows how to defend its motherland…India knows this too…India is on a dangerous course which would only lead it to self-destruction”.
Earlier, addressing both houses of parliament separately on January 6 and January 7, this year, Foreign Minister Quereshi said: “Pakistan is making efforts for a vibrant role of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation [OIC]…on human rights violations in India-occupied Kashmir…India is facing protests in different states over a controversial law [CAA/NRC] could use the opportunity to divert attention from its internal problems by trying to destabilise Pakistan and carry out a false-flag operation”. He assured the parliament that “the Pakistani nation and the army are fully alive to the ongoing situation, and are capable enough to defend their homeland in case of any misadventure by India.” Recently, Gen. Qamar Bajwa has, once again, stated that Pakistan’s armed forces are ready to give a matching response in case of any prospective military adventure inside Pakistan.
It is worth-mentioning that Machiavelli advises the rulers to have a lion-like image outwardly, and act upon the traits of goat inwardly. He also suggests them foreign adventures and the use of terror to obtain their goals. In his sense, a good ruler should be a good opportunist and hypocrite. While echoing Machiavelli, Morgenthau points out that sometimes, rulers act upon immoral activities like deceit, fraud, falsehood and even murder to fulfill their selfish aims.
By following the discarded theories of the past thinkers, without bothering for dire consequences and even the nuclear war, Indian extremist government which is planning another false flag operation to blame Pakistan, can conduct it before or on January 26, 2020—the Republic Day, while this very day is being observed by the Kashmiris as the Black Day.
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