Sultan M Hali
HAVING got a bloody nose at the hands of the Chinese in Galwan Valley and bracing for even more embarrassments in the future, Narendra Modi is trying to divert the attention of the Indian masses towards Pakistan. Modi’s miscalculation is that Pakistan is a soft target and can be subdued relatively easily. Five decades ago, the machinations of Indian spy agency RAW had prepared the grounds for an insurrection in East Pakistan. Despite the fact that it had been recently organized, RAW went into top gear to achieve its heinous aims of subverting the Bengalis and turning them against Pakistan.
1971 was a different era and a totally dissimilar scenario. The two wings of Pakistan were divided by more than 1400 kilometres of hostile Indian territory, the armed forces of Pakistan had not fully recovered from the after-effects of the 1965 Pakistan-India War. The United States, sole supplier of military hardware to Pakistan had slapped an embargo on weapons procurement by Pakistan and the local population of East Pakistan had not only been turned hostile through sedition but trained and infiltrated by Indian troops in the creation of Mukti Bahini guerrillas. The Armed Forces of Pakistan were fighting an enemy more than ten times its size in the eastern theatre of war, facing an external enemy as well as an internal one in the shape of the Bengali separatists. The end was never in doubt and RAW achieved a major victory for India.
2020 however, is different. RAW may have enhanced its capacity to wreak havoc through Afghanistan, Iran and Kashmir but Pakistan too has learnt its military lessons and sharpened its skills for combating fifth generation wars. The apprehension of senior RAW operative Commander Kulbhoshan Sudhir Jadhav from Afghanistan is a case in point. He confessed to launching separatist movements by the Baloch dissidents. At his finger pointing, the entire RAW network in Balochistan was smashed but that was four years ago. India has been active since and more sleeper cells have been activated. RAW operatives in Afghanistan and Pakistan have been triggered to launch terror acts to destabilize Pakistan. Subversion Course-101 teaches that in the first stage, the target population must be made to realize of a sense of deprivation, creating non-issues, executing terror attacks, making the people lose confidence in their political and military leadership and finally launching a full fledged armed assault to defeat a subdued enemy.
If we cast even a cursory glance at the events of the last few weeks, we find that RAW is following the subversion handbook in letter and spirit. Through its moles in the political arena, despite the Pakistan government struggling valiantly to overcome the onslaught of COVID-19, an impression is being created that the government has failed. Non-issues like sugar, fuel and flour shortages are being created to give the government a bad name. The Line of Control is being constantly bombarded to target civilian population and create a sense of insecurity in the population residing close to the LoC. Espionage activities through drones, quadcopters and other devices have been enhanced. RAW operatives are targeting financial hubs and the attack on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) at Karachi on 29 June is a clear example of the same. It was only the vigilance and valour of the security guards that foiled the attack but more such attacks are expected in near future. It was not surprising that Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) linked Majeed Brigade claimed responsibility for the attack. The group is banned in Pakistan, UK and US and renowned for its links with the Indian spy agency RAW.
The BLA has carried out several terrorist attacks in the past, including a suicide attack in August 2018 that targeted Chinese engineers in Balochistan, a November 2018 attack on the Chinese Consulate in Karachi, and a May 2019 attack against Pearl Continental hotel in Gwadar, Balochistan denote India’s aversion to CPEC. The symbolism of the target is obvious. PSX signifies the lynchpin of Pakistan’s economy. Its location in the proximity of the State Bank of Pakistan and numerous other financial hubs is noteworthy. If the terror attack had been successful, it would have wreaked havoc on the morale of the nation, already reeling under the negative effects of COVID-19. What is equally significant is that certain elements of the Indian electronic media, especially hate-mongers like the noxious and toxic TV anchor Arnab Goswami, Saurav et-al went berserk targeting Pakistan. RAW definitely has a major influence on Indian media and both operate in tandem to denigrate target countries.
RAW operatives in Afghanistan, who are designated to destabilize Pakistan, have been reportedly tasked to enhance their subversive activities to rock Pakistan’s foundations. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Daesh, which have found safe havens in Afghanistan, have been reportedly approached by RAW to execute the heinous Indian agenda. The work of Pakistani media, government, armed forces and law enforcing agencies is cut out to stop RAW from achieving its noxious conspiracies in Pakistan. Indian economy may be on the brink of collapse, its anti-COVID-19 policies may have failed and its armed forces battered by the People’s Liberation Army but its stratagem to destabilize Pakistan to distract the attention of its masses or launch false flag operations, must be watched vigilantly.
—The writer is retired PAF Group Captain and a TV talk show host.
