Comment by Riaz Haq on September 19, 2016 at 5:16pm

#Modi #Doval policy on #Pakistan is backfiring as "chickens come home to roost". #Kashmir #UriAttacks #India http://blogs.rediff.com/mkbhadrakumar/2016/09/18/indias-pakistan-po... …

The terrorist attack on the Indian Army base camp at Uri in the early hours of Sunday gives a sickening feeling that the asymmetric war with Pakistan, which began tapering off a year ago, is restarting. (here) What has happened to our Pakistan policy?

There are always ‘red lines’ in diplomacy and the most important ones are always the self-imposed ones. I can ‘declassify’ a vital information, namely, that in the a priori history before Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in May 2014, we took care not to violate the ‘red lines’ – crying hoarse over Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan or hobnobbing with Baluchi secessionists.

The present government has breached those ‘red lines’. The National Security Advisor in the government Ajit Doval openly threatened to ‘do another Bangladesh’ to Pakistan by splitting Baluchistan province. PM has now tacitly acknowledged that that threat is actually his government’s policy.

The PM’s admirers are cheering wildly. They are thrilled he is taking a leaf out of Chanakya to put Pakistan in its place – ‘Samam, Danam, Bhedam, Dandam’, et al. They are speculating in the social network sites where our training camps for Baluchi rebels could be located. Some say Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, bordering Sindh, is ideal.

Whoever advised PM to ride the Baluchi tiger must be a moron of the first order. Make no mistake, the attack on Uri army base is an act of retaliation from across the border.

I wrote only two days ago that Americans could be in possession of intelligence regarding likelihood of a terrorist strike. (See my blog Washington’s Modi blues.) There are obviously grey areas that need explaining by the government. Couldn’t the security establishment anticipate that a Pakistani retaliation was inevitable?

The public opinion should comprehend how dangerous is this shift in our country’s policies. The Indian policy consistently factored in that a realistic solution to the Kashmir problem would somehow devolve upon international recognition to the Line of Control.

Not even mavericks thought it was within the realm of possibility to annex POK. Equally, we knew that even if public sentiments in POK turned critical of Islamabad, that didn’t mean tilt favouring integration with India. As for Gilgit and Baltistan, chances of annexing those remote regions are simply non-existent.

Nonetheless, we did invoke POK now and then – never Gilgit and Baltistan, though – whenever we needed to nail Pakistani propaganda. Period.

We secretly hoped for the integration of POK, Gilgit and Baltistan as full-fledged Pakistani provinces (similar to the process currently under way with regard to FATA), hoping that would erode Pakistan’s locus standii on Kashmir. (Smart thinking today should be to encourage China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.)
However, government legitimised our propagandistic stance as India’s official policy. And it took a great leap into the dark by making Baluchi nationalism the stuff of our prime ministerial diplomacy.

Had PM ever visited Pakistan, even once, he’d have known how deeply scarred that country’s psyche is even today, after four decades, that India cut open its womb once and took away one half. No matter the sound rationale of our ‘humanitarian intervention’ in East Pakistan, the fact of the matter is that no country ever did such a thing to a neighbouring country in all of modern history.

Yet, the ruling elites are strongly signalling that India planned to team up with Afghanistan to dismember Pakistan. The Indian Express newspaper commented editorially that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s recent visit to Delhi marked the launch of an interventionist policy similar to the saga in Sri Lanka in the eighties. (here) The Uri attack came 5 days after Ghani’s visit.

Comment by Riaz Haq on April 27, 2017 at 4:57pm

April 13 #US #MOAB bombing killed 13 #India's #RAW agents in #Afghanistan: #Pakistan FO

https://tribune.com.pk/story/1394957/india-sponsors-perpetrates-ter...

Indian media reports suggested that some Indian nationals were also among the fatalities. The reports claimed that these Indian citizens were, in fact, Da’ish militants.

Former spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan rips apart TTP in confession video

However, Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria has a different story to tell. At his last weekly media briefing, the spokesperson had said he would get back with details when asked to confirm reports of presence of RAW agents in Afghanistan.

Now, Zakaria claimed that 13 RAW agents were killed in the US bombing in Nangarhar province close to the border with Pakistan.

“Your reference to the presence of 13 agents of Indian intelligence agency RAW among those who died by the bombing on a terrorists’ sanctuary vindicates our claim that India is using Afghan soil against Pakistan,” Zakaria said.

The presence of RAW’s agents should also be seen in the backdrop of revelations made by Ehsanullah Ehsan, the former spokesperson of terrorist groups TTP and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, who turned himself in last week, Zakaria added.

“India clearly stands exposed as a state sponsoring and financing terrorists. Confession of Kulbhushan Jadhav and now revelations by Ehsanullah Ehsan are irrefutable proof against India. We have raised the issue of Indian involvement and terror financing in Pakistan at the UN and with other countries.”

He further said that Pakistan had always highlighted to the international community that India was using Afghan soil against Pakistan and it had been repeatedly stated by those in India in position of authority and responsibility that their effort was to squeeze Pakistan from the eastern and western borders.

Kulbhushan Jadhav’s mother appeals to Pakistan for his release

“The international community should take note of Indian state sponsorship of activities of subversion, terrorism and financing of terrorists against Pakistan.”

Turning towards the current unrest in Kashmir, the spokesperson said India has waged war against unarmed and defenceless Kashmiris through state terrorism.

“Indian occupation forces forcibly barged into camps of schools and colleges in Pulwama on April 15. Ever since, students – including girls from primary to college levels all over Kashmir valley – have been demonstrating with pro-freedom and anti-India slogans. Over 150 students have been injured in the brutal use of force, pellets and teargas shells fired by Indian occupation forces.”

To hide grave human rights abuses and crimes against humanity, Indian occupation forces have imposed a ban on Internet services in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK). Indian media has quoted an Indian official in IOK that “no amount of brute and lethal force could deter these girls”.

Spokesperson Zakaria termed the recent decision of the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh to ban holidays such as Jumatul Widah and Eid Milad-un-Nabi as discriminatory treatment meted out to minorities, especially Muslims, in India.

“We have seen numerous examples of what’s happening in India in terms of persecution of minorities like Muslims, Christians or Dalits. This has become a matter of concern for the international community.”

Comment by Riaz Haq on February 3, 2018 at 8:25pm

#India’s secret war against #Pakistan. by Praveen Swami #KulbhushanJadhav #Balochistan #RAW #ajitdoval

http://www.frontline.in/the-nation/indias-secret-war/article1005512...

he implications of the questions raised by the Kulbhushan Jadhav case go far beyond Jadhav’s fate. It is time India reflects seriously on its expanding programme of covert action and its long-term consequences. By PRAVEEN SWAMI
FOR six hours, the hired car had driven through a forest of shadows, cast by the mountains of Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan province—for generations, a refuge for smugglers, insurgents and spies. Heading towards Saravan, a town of 50,000 some 20 kilometres from the border with Pakistan, the car was carrying a businessman from Mumbai to a meeting. The men he wanted to meet were waiting, but there were others, too: like every spy story, this one ended in betrayal.

India knows something of what happened next: Kulbhushan Jadhav is now on death row, awaiting execution, after a hurried trial by a military court in Pakistan which found him guilty of espionage.

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Ever since 2013, India has secretly built up a covert action programme against Pakistan, seeking to retaliate against jehadists and deter their sponsors in the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Directorate. Led by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, and now by Research and Analysis Wing’s (RAW) Anil Dhasmana, the programme has registered unprecedented success, hitting hard against organisations such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e-Muhammad. But the story of the man on death row illustrates that this secret war is not risk-free. Lapses in tradecraft and judgment, inevitable parts of any human enterprise, can inflict harm far greater than the good they seek to secure.


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the Kulbhushan Jadhav case ought to raise questions about whether India’s intelligence bosses are devoting the kind of granular attention that the issue requires to insulate the country from the potential risks. The questions over Jadhav’s passports, the opacity of his business operations and, most important, the lack of transparency about his connection to the Indian Navy, have all made it difficult for the government of India to dissociate itself from his cause—the usual, necessary fate of the spy. It is also not clear why, if he is indeed a spy, he was not withdrawn after Uzair Baluch’s arrest, an elementary precaution.

Perhaps more importantly, there ought to be a serious political debate cutting across party lines on the possible consequences of covert action.

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Precedents do exist to resolve situations like this. Gary Powers, the pilot of a CIA espionage flight shot down over the Soviet Union in May 1960—and reviled by his colleagues for not committing suicide—was eventually exchanged for the legendary KGB spy Vilyam Genrikhovich Fisher.

In both New Delhi and Islamabad, there are rumours the two capitals are working on just such a deal—possibly involving former ISI officer Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Zahir Habib, alleged to have been kidnapped by India—or a wider deal, which could see the release of multiple espionage convicts.

Both countries have much to gain from a dispassionate conversation on the case—on the norms that ought to govern covert activity of the one against the other, and on the inexorable consequences of the secret war Pakistan has long run.

For that, the Kulbhushan Jadhav case needs to be elevated above prime-time ranting and opened up for rational discussion. 

Comment by Riaz Haq on October 23, 2020 at 9:42am

Pakistan fighting war in India’s hinterland without weapons. That’s sixth-generation warfare
Pakistan Army needs one more coup or mutiny. This time for its reforms.

By Major General Amarjit Singh, VSM (Retd) commanded a Division in the Northern Sector

https://theprint.in/opinion/pakistan-fighting-war-in-indias-hinterl...

The next generation of warfare moves away from the customary objectives of territory, destruction of war-waging capability, and capturing prisoners. The overarching goal of overpowering the will of the enemy will still be the ultimate objective, but the method adopted will aim to impact the mind of the populace with the use of a number of psychological means to alter its core cultural values and beliefs. Western civilisation lays importance to life and wealth whereas a radicalised civilisation values ‘faith’ over life and the way it is lived.

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The ends of warfare have shifted from a territorial concept of physical domination to the domination of minds of the population. The Arab Spring is an example of a well-orchestrated psychological campaign. The domination of the mind is by terror, coercion or through psychological bribery. The weapons and strategy of this kind of war are totally new and the country that can deploy these at the earliest will be the future power of the world. Hard weapons have been replaced by weapons of the mind and information. The narrative of the war itself will be the most lethal weapon.

Military analysts have already started writing about the sixth generation of warfare. The demonstration of this war by Pakistan can be seen by the number of minds it controls in Kashmir and how it is capturing the minds of radical Muslims in other parts of India. The de-militarisation of Siachen demonstrates the neighbour’s capacity to influence the leadership and the intellectuals of India. Pakistan is now fighting the ‘war’ in India’s hinterland and making use of the fault lines that exist within the country to de-stabilise it internally, so that in the end, India becomes incapable of responding to an invasion from within for the capture of Kashmir.


Few countries have understood the emergence of this new warfare. The US understood it after burning its fingers in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. Russia has been studying this concept for the last 15 years and has demonstrated its prowess in Crimea and Chechnya, and through the purported meddling in the last US elections. The Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov had said in 2013 that “The role of non-military means of achieving political and strategic goals has grown, and, in many cases, they have exceeded the power of weapons in their effectiveness”. Russia’s forethought and strategic culture of being a great power is reflected in its recent victories in the new war of information and irregularity. Russia is now the third pole in the hybrid war that the US is fighting against the radicals in the Middle East and Afghanistan. China, very strategically, has unveiled its prowess in this new type of warfare and is engaged with the US in a new Cold War where it is not the threat of nuclear weapons that is paramount, but the economy.

Comment by Riaz Haq on July 4, 2021 at 4:31pm

#Pakistan says India was behind June bomb blast in #JoharTown #Lahore. It killed 3, hurt 24. #Probe finds that the man who carried out the attack is an Indian citizen living in #India and works for that country’s #RAW intelligence agency. #terrorism
https://apnews.com/article/india-pakistan-lahore-0628c7d26e00e7d8a4...

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s national security advisor has accused India of orchestrating last month’s deadly car bombing in the eastern city of Lahore, saying Sunday that an investigation has shown it was organized by an Indian intelligence operative.

In a news conference in Islamabad, Moeed Yousuf said the probe showed that the man was an Indian citizen living in India who works for that country’s RAW intelligence agency. He did not name the alleged mastermind.

“Through the forensic analysis, electronic equipment, which has been recovered from these terrorists, we have identified the main mastermind and the handlers of this terrorist attack. And we have no doubt in informing you that the main mastermind belongs to RAW, lives in India and is an Indian citizen.” He said Pakistan will continue its efforts to expose India’s sponsorship of such attacks internationally.

The explosion took place outside the residence of anti-India militant leader Hafiz Saeed, who himself has been designated a terrorist by the U.S. Justice Department and has a $10 million bounty on his head. India accuses Saeed of helping mastermind the deadly 2008 attacks in Mumbai that killed nearly 170 people at several occasions including the luxury Taj Hotel. He was unharmed in the powerful explosion in Lahore’s Johar Town neighborhood that killed three and wounded 24.

India and Pakistan routinely accuse the other of carrying out clandestine attacks on the other’s territory. Saeed is a highly wanted suspect in India, and Pakistan has been criticized by India and the United States for not taking stronger actions against him.

Punjab police chief Inam Ghani said all those involved in the bombing have been arrested, including an Afghan who lived in Pakistan and actually parked the explosives-laden car at the site of blast.

Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi couldn’t be reached for comment.

___ Ashok Sharma in New Delhi contributed.

Comment by Riaz Haq on September 24, 2021 at 4:25pm

#Indian #intelligence #RAW agent, who spied on #Pakistan, lives a miserable life in #India. Daniel served a 4-year sentence in Pakistan. He was promised money & government job. Now he drives a rickshaw while his wife works as a maid washing dishes. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2321560/raw-agent-who-spied-on-pakista...

About the tasks assigned to him, he said he was asked to gather information about the location of various army units, their movement and said at times he was tasked to make friendly contacts with Pakistani working or retired military personnel and try to get any type of information.

Daniel said he and his other fellow agents also used to lure some Pakistanis to work for RAW and in those days since only the Indian side was fenced they faced no problem in smuggling people, as the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) always facilitated them.
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Indian agents working for the notorious Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) feel dejected and abandoned by their parent spy agency, forcing them to live the rest of their lives in squalid conditions.

For people like Daniel, who served a four-year sentence in Pakistan, life has become miserable as now he has to drive a rickshaw while his wife works as a maid washing dishes, to earn some livelihood, an Indian news channel Pro Punjab said.

In an interview, Daniel, a Christian, who lives in an Indian Punjab village bordering Sialkot and Narowal area, claimed that he worked for his country’s spy agency RAW, on lucrative promises of money and a government job, and was smuggled into Pakistan in 1992 to carry out the dirty work.


“We used to feel very proud while working for RAW,” he said to a question, however, felt disheartened that his agency had abandoned him.

Daniel said he travelled back and forth across the border 10 times in a year, till he got caught in 1993 in Lahore. When questioned about his arrest, he said he did not utter a single word about being tasked by RAW to gather information from Pakistan, during the tough interrogation.

He said they were told to pose as smugglers or act like someone who crossed over to the other side by mistake. He said he was shifted from various jails and eventually released from Kot Lakhpat jail Lahore.

The former spy went on to say that in one of his earlier ventures into Pakistan, he barely escaped arrest and hid under a culvert as a Rangers team patrolled the area. ”We hid there for over an hour till it was clear to move in the dark.”

Comment by Riaz Haq on January 29, 2022 at 6:07pm

Vijaita Singh
@vijaita
In light of the latest NYT report that Pegasus was sold to India in 2017,same year PM Modi visited Israel....here is our February 2017 report on NSCS budget (Rs 333 crore) getting an inexplicable tenfold hike in 2017-18 budget.

https://twitter.com/vijaita/status/1487272814562344962?s=20&t=l...

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Security council secretariat gets Rs.333 crore, a tenfold hike
Vijaita Singh

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/Security-council-secretariat...

The National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), which reports to National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval, has seen a tenfold increase in budgetary allocation this year.

Last fiscal, though ₹33 crore was allotted to the NSCS, it ended up spending ₹81 crore; this year the allocation has shot up to ₹333 crore.

NSCS works as an advisory group, comprising various experts on security-related matters, and is headed by deputy NSA Arvind Gupta. The body is responsible for advising the Prime Minister on key strategic and security issues, both on domestic as well as international fronts, and consists of academics and eminent professionals.

Brainchild of Brajesh
Mr. Doval, who is said to be the final authority on all major security-related decisions, has had a deep interest in reviving the scope of NSCS, which was the brainchild of late former NSA Brajesh Mishra.

Mr. Mishra set up the NSCS in 1998 under the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

In 2011-12, only ₹ 17.43 crore was allocated for the body. In 2012-13, it was marginally increased to ₹20.33 crore, going up to ₹26.06 crore in 2013-14.

After NDA-II came to power in 2014-15, the allocation for NSCS was increased to ₹44.46 crore but it could spend only ₹25 crore.

A subsidiary
The National Security Advisory Board (NSAB), which draws experts from all fields, is a subsidiary of NSCS and so is the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC). The allocation for the office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister has also increased substantially from ₹5.19 crore to ₹34.83 crore.

“The funds being allotted for NSCS were always insufficient and the increase in funds is a welcome step. It does security analysis, war-gaming etc. and advises the government on key security issues,” said a former member of NSCS, on condition of anonymity.

NSCS has about 100 staff of all scales. “The increase has got to do with activities. There is much more activity than ever in the past,” said a senior official.

Limited ambit
Another official pointed out that NSCS has a limited ambit, so it was surprising to see such a dramatic budget hike.

Comment by Riaz Haq on December 13, 2022 at 9:46am

Clear evidence of India carrying out terrorist activities in Pakistan: Rana Sanaullah



https://www.dawn.com/news/1726154


“Naveed was a labourer in the Middle East and was in jail because he could not pay his fine. A RAW agent approached him and told him that he would pay his fine, but then, Naveed would have to engage in terror activities against Pakistan,” Mehmood said in the press conference.

He added that as soon as Naveed was arrested, several terror activities were thwarted. “When we arrested Sami ul Haq, Naveed was unaware of his arrest. Sami ul Haq told us that he was about to meet Naveed on May 10. We were then able to apprehend Naveed as well.”

As the investigation continued, Mehmood said, more RAW agents were uncovered.

“We also found out that close to a million dollars of terror financing was done through India to spread terrorism in Pakistan through different channels,” he revealed, adding that all the arrested persons have been sentenced to death three times by the court.

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