Dr Muhammad Khan
IN recent months Pakistan has been frequently
warning the international community, major
powers and United Nations about the intended Indian false flag operations in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK). Indeed, there is a history of Indian false flag operations, which it smartly used over the years against Pakistan and to defame Kashmiri’s struggle for their right of self-determination. From the beginning of 21st century, India has conducted over a dozen small and large scale false flag operations. A realistic assessment of Indian false flag operations (FFO) would divulge that a lot has gone in conceiving, planning and execution of these politically motivated deceptive covert operations. Since 2000, there has been a systematic and persistent conduct of FFOs by India with the exception of their location, selection of target, pattern and intended magnitude of operation. All FFO were planned and conducted to achieve some specific and some broad objectives, depending upon the prevailing political and security situation at regional and global level.
Whereas, the specific objectives pertaining to each false flag operation were different, depending upon the situation and desired results, the broad objectives have been constant. The broad objectives include; alienating and relegating Pakistan regionally and globally, attempts to declare Pakistan as a terrorist state, economic exploitation of Pakistan, creating hatred against military and ISI, waging hybrid war, exploiting various fault lines, targeting the ideology of Pakistan and portraying itself as an emerging power. These broad objectives are indeed long-term goals, India has been pursuing through its political influences and diplomatic overtures. The specific objectives India plans to attain through FFOs are short and medium term goals while exploiting a specific situation in its favour. These are deceptive covert measures aimed at diverting the attention from an inauspicious domestic socio-political environment or else to avert mounting international critics against Indian actions like human rights violation and targeting the minorities. In past two decades Indian FFOs were aimed to defame Kashmiris’ struggle. On March 20, 2000, 35 Sikhs were massacred by men of Indian secret services in Chittisinghpura area of District Anantnag in IOJK. It was conducted a day prior to the visit of US President Bill Clinton with the objective to declare on-going Kashmiri’s movement in IOJK as terrorism rather a justified movement for their right of self-determination. Through this well planned FFO India tried to convince US and international community that, Kashmiri’s revolt is actually ideology driven aimed to terrorize non-Muslims. Since the incident of 9/11 was theorized upon the hypothesis that, Muslims are behind this incident, India exploited it to defame indigenous Kashmiris struggle for their right of self-determination as terrorism. Under the global anti-terrorism environment India was able to sell its prejudiced narrative against Pakistan and Kashmiri’s struggle for their legal right.
In an internationally changed opinion, this Indian narrative was well received. In order to further exploit the available opportunity, India conducted a major FFO on its Parliament on December 13, 2001. While Indian security forces killed all so-called assailant before they could enter the Parliament building, not a single MP was hurt in this attack. Indian Government immediately accused Pakistan of this attack and consequently mobilized its armed forces for attacking Pakistan in the format of US attack in Afghanistan. The 2002, Godhra Train incident in Indian Gujarat, burning 58 Hindus was a meticulously planned FFO to promote Modi and his Hindutva ideology to new heights. The post operation massacre of over 2000 Muslims brought Narindra Modi to assume the party leadership of BJP and Indian premiership while RSS led Hindutva becoming the new Indian ideology. The Mumbai attack of November 26, 2008 was a grand FFO which killed 167 people at three locations. This operation was conducted, once Pakistani Foreign Minister was negotiating peace process with his Indian counter-part at New Delhi. In this FFO, Indian security forces also killed Hemant Karkare, Chief of Anti-Terrorist Squad who found in his inquiry report that Colonel Prasad Purohit, a serving Indian Army officer was involved in anti-Muslim incidents including burning of Samjota Express-2007.Through Pathankot air force base attack in January 2016, India manipulated a rift between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the military establishment.
The September 2016 FFO at Uri was aimed at averting the mounting international pressure where India was immensely criticised for killing, blinding and paralyzing Kashmiri youth by using pellet-guns and other prohibited weapons after the martyrdom of Burhan Wani. This operation was also aimed to put Pakistan on defensive, since it had planned to refer the Indian human violations in IOJK to UN. After this FFO, India swanked to international community that, it had carried out surgical strikes inside Azad Kashmir, which never happened. Through FFO at Pulwama, India wanted to further built-on its faulty narrative of surgical strikes. The narrative got bogged-down once Indian Air Force lost its two air crafts in broad day light on February 27, 2019. Apart from defaming and down-playing Pakistan, the Uri and Pulwama FFOs were planned to project India as an emerging major power. After serial launching of false flag operations, India lost the credibility and global recognitions of its misleading false flag operations. Nevertheless, its political leadership and top military commanders are still threatening Pakistan for a possible military aggression in AJK and GB. Since world has understood and rejected the philosophy behind Indian false flag operations, therefore, India must stop deceiving its domestic audience and international community through its outrageous media, retired generals and pseudo scholars. It’s about time that, Indian masses must question the Indian Government about its motives of FFOs. Besides, international community and UN must compel India to resolve the Kashmir dispute as per the wishes of its legitimate state subjects.
— The writer is Professor of Politics and IR at International Islamic University, Islamabad.
