Corruption cases in Sindh government go unnoticed

By Sarah Khan

We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.– (Aesop)

One late night, Hazrat Umar Bin Abdul Aziz, the celebrated Umayyad Caliph whose empire stretched from the shores of the Atlantic to the highlands of Pamir, was sitting in his private chamber examining a pile of State documents. The dim light of the room was adding to the serenity and somberness of the place and the Caliph could scarcely feel the arrival of his wife, Fatima, till she addressed him, “Sire! Will you spare few moments for me? I want to discuss a private matter with you.” “Of course”, replied the pious Caliph, raising his head from the papers, “But, please put off this State lamp and light your own, as I do not want to burn the State oil for private talk.”  Our history is replete with such examples of good governance which has become a rare entity now, especially in Pakistan.

In recent years, and especially in the decade of the 1990s, a phenomenon broadly referred to as corruption has attracted a great deal of attention.  In countries developed and developing, large or small, market-oriented or otherwise, because of accusations of corruption, governments have fallen, prominent politicians (including presidents of countries and prime ministers) have lost their official positions, and, in some cases, whole political classes have been replaced.  “Corruption and poor governance limit economic growth and retard the development of a healthy private sector”.  Corruption, defined as misuse of entrusted power for private benefit is unfortunately endemic in Pakistan. No structure, no tier and no office of public sector is immune from it. Its spread is enormous. It has reached every organ of state — beyond executive it has put its claws on judiciary and legislature even. It would be no exaggeration to say that the whole body of the state of Pakistan is suffering from this malaise and wailing under its dead weight. So enormous is its incidence that in 2014 Pakistan was ranked 127 in the comity of nations on the scale of corruption free governance.

Although, corruption has permeated in ever region of our country, yet the situation is extremely alarming in Sindh.  Quick analysis can lead to connections between previous federal Government and present provincial Government of Sindh. Off late, mega corruption scandals of Sindh Government have been reported but as usual not a single meaningful investigation has been initiated so far.  Our domestic media which remains vigilant in searching for such scandals also seems least interested on such mega stories for reasons best known to them.  Various departments of Sindh Government which have been reportedly involved in colossal corruption cases include General Administration Department, Education Department, Revenue Department, Energy Department and Works Department.  The overall figures of combined corruption reach almost 13 Billion rupees.  Last month, it was reported that formal FIRs have been registered against few secretary level officials but progress is still awaited.

Evil of corruption can not be tackled single handedly, it would rather need a collaborated and multi pronged strategy.  The national leadership must show honest and visible commitment against corruption.  Existing policies must be reviewed to reduce the demand for corruption by scaling down regulations and other policies such as tax incentives and by making those that are retained as transparent and as non-discretionary as possible. Discretion must be kept to the minimum.  Similarly, by reducing the supply of corruption by increasing public sector wages, by increasing incentives toward honest behavior and by instituting effective controls and penalties on the public servants can also prove effective in combating corruption.  Media must play its ethical and professional role of watch dog to unearth the corruption cases and sensitize the public on gravity of these cases to administer justice.  Our society can do a lot to reduce the intensity of this problem but no single action will achieve more than a limited improvement and some of the required actions may require major changes in existing policies.

Our country has lost many years of development effort because of eating up of development funds at a very large scale and because of over charging for almost every item of work.  Corruption is not a problem that can be attacked in isolation. It is not sufficient for the criminal law to search for bad apples and punish them. Of course, the state may need to establish credibility by punishing highly visible

corrupt officials, but the goal of such prosecutions is to attract notice and public support, not solve the underlying problem. Anticorruption laws can only provide a background for more important structural reforms.  Joe Biden had rightly said, “Fighting corruption is not just good governance. It’s self-defense. It’s patriotism”.

Being Muslim in India

By Aakar Patel

The convicted terrorist Yakub Memon was buried this week, the same day as former Indian president and scientist APJ Abdul Kalam. The Indian government forbade the media from reporting on Memon’s burial, while Kalam was given a state funeral on a gun carriage (which was fitting since his fame came as a developer of atom bombs and the missiles to carry them). The media complied on the matter of Memon, and this was for two reasons, though it is usually fiercely protective of its free speech rights. The first reason was that Mumbai’s media agreed with the government’s concern that an overly supportive crowd of Muslims at the funeral of a convict would polarise a city which has seen more than its share of communal violence. The second reason was that there was distaste at the fact that a convicted terrorist was being given public sympathy if not respect. Some channels carried on-screen banners announcing their position that they would not give publicity to such distasteful happenings.

The only indication Indians got of the numbers at the Memon funeral were some photographs that newspapers carried the following day.Indian Express reported that about “8,000 Muslims from across Mumbai gathered to offer namaz for Yakub Memon”. The question for us is: why were they there? The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and governor of Tripura, Tathagata Roy offered his theory of why the Muslims had gathered. Hetweeted: “Intelligence shd keep a tab on all (expt relatives & close friends) who assembled bfr Yakub Memon’s corpse. Many are potential terrorists.”

Indian Express reported that people came from far away and with “WhatsApp messages on the venue and time of the last rites doing the rounds, complete strangers came to mourn for Yakub.” The report added that senior police officers tracked social media for the briefest hint of anger. However, the police commissioner accepted that there had been “no rabble-rousing” and inside the burial ground those gathered had been told “koi naarebaazi nahin karega (no shouting of slogans)”. If they were not there to demonstrate, why did so many show up despite the extreme hostility in the media and the police scrutiny?

That is easy to understand if we can look at events without prejudice and without being coloured by the narrative of the media. The sequence of events is quite clear in that sense. The blasts that Memon was convicted for happened on March 12, 1993. In January of the same year, over 500 Muslims (and over 200 Hindus) were killed in riots in Mumbai. The month before that the BJP-led movement against the Babri masjid resulted in the tearing down of the mosque.

In that sense, the blasts were part of a larger sequence of events and linked to violence in which communities were involved to a very large extent. To the numbers of those killed, we must add those who lost their businesses, those who were wounded, raped and those who were displaced. These numbers run into the tens of thousands.

This was the background to the blasts. Memon’s hanging itself was divisive and threw up a lot of poison. Television channels were openly hostile to the idea that he should not be hanged. Meanwhile, a report in the Times of India quoting a study by the National Law University said that 94 per cent of those sentenced to death were either Dalits or Muslims.

This reinforced the perception among many Muslims that they were being punished for their religion. Even if Memon was guilty, and he was, the eagerness of the state to kill him was because of his religion. The total lack of sympathy in this case was contrasted to the murderers Maya Kodnani and Babu Bajrangi of the BJP, both convicted of equally vicious crimes, but out on bail.

Then there is the larger reality of being Muslim in India. It would be instructive to see the reader comments under any article on the internet that refers to not just terrorism, but any related issue where the perfidy of Muslims can be introduced. In India’s Anglicised middle classes, the sense of bigotry and prejudice runs through so strongly that it is frightening. I need hardly go into the matter of the trouble faced by Muslims who look for housing and jobs.

That then is the reality of being Muslim in India. There are moments, and the hanging of Yakub Memon was one, where all of the gathered injustices are crystallised. Those gathered at the graveyard were not there to protest. They came to sympathise because they are also victims.

US Concerns Remains Intact over Iran-Pak Gas Pipeline Even after the Nuclear Deal

By Sarah Khan

After signing of Iran-US/ West nuclear deal on 14 July 2015, many analysts have opined that regional cooperation in energy and trade with Iran will increase manifold. Tariq Fatemi, the Prime Minister’s special adviser on foreign affairs, told a think-tank in Washington last week that Pakistan welcomed the deal because it would open the doors for economic cooperation with Iran, including the construction of a pipeline to bring natural gas for the energy-starved country. However, on 03 August 2015, US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the lifting of sanctions for commercial deals with Iran had not started yet. He added, “We don’t consider Iran open for business yet, and there’s no new sanctions relief beyond the very limited relief under the joint plan of action that’s been in place since January 2014. When Iran meets its key nuclear steps and we get to implementation day, then there will be commensurate relief of nuclear-related sanctions.”

US/ West have compromised on Iran's nuclear programme by accepting its right to enrich uranium for their own vested interests and also announced to lift sanctions which serve their interests. But when it comes to Pakistan, State Department has announced that sanctions remains in place. This is very unfair on part of US. After the signing of deal, so many countries have shown their interest in enhancing trade and energy related ties with Iran. Pakistan should also move ahead on the gas pipeline project which is badly needed for an energy starved country.

Moreover, it has also been noted that US State Department never forgets to mention Mumbai attack and Indian concerns vis-a-vis Pakistan. On the contrary, US state department has never even mentioned RAW's involvement in terrorist incidents inside Pakistan, its links with MQM and its role in Afghanistan to undermine peace and reconciliation led by Pakistan. Hence, Pakistan government should not compromise on issues of national interest and wait for ‘go ahead” signal from US/ West to commence work on Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline. The project should be initiated without any further delay as recommended by many renowned scholars and analysts of Pakistan.

Iranian nuclear deal and prospects for energy starved Pakistan

By Shahzadi Tooba Hussain Syed

Pakistan is currently facing a severe energy crisis. Besides electricity, the country also faces a growing shortage of natural gas that is the main source of energy especially for those who do not have access to electricity. In Pakistan, the gas shortfall is 2 billion cubic feet per day. In this scenario, easing of international sanctions on Iran by successful implementation of Iranian nuclear deal could play a critical role for easing energy insecurity of Pakistan in a short time span.
On July 14, 2015, a nuclear deal was struck to restrain Iranian nuclear program in Vienna. Some measures that Iran has agreed to include reducing the number of installed centrifuges, limiting all uranium enrichment to 3.67 percent for 15 years, redesigning and rebuilding the Arak heavy water reactor so it can no longer produce weapons grade plutonium, allowing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regular access to all nuclear facilities, allowing inspectors access to uranium mines and surveillance of uranium mills for 25 years and Implementing the Additional Protocol of the IAEA.
At the face value, the outline of the sanctions relief is simple. Most sanctions against Iran will be lifted in exchange for Iran capping its nuclear program and accepting additional verification measures. Consequently, the lifting of sanctions national and international bank would be able to finance IP pipeline without the fear of international sanctions.
The 7.5$ billion Iran-Pakistan (IP) was inaugurated with great fanfare in March 2013, however, owing to the international sanctions on Iran because of its aspiration for a nuclear bomb made it impossible for Pakistan to get money from national and international banks to build its side of the pipeline. As the Pakistan’s Petroleum Minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbassi said in an interview that the advancement on the IP project was clogged because of international sanctions on Iran. He further argued that “now hopefully, as the sanctions are removed, it facilitates us to address our energy needs and also meet the contractual obligations.” In fact, Pakistan missed the deadline to build its side of the pipeline last December and Iran under its “take or pay” obligation, asked Pakistan to pay penalties.
Iran has completed most of its part of the pipeline, but still needs to construct around 200 km long pipeline, which should eventually link its South Pars gas fields to the Pakistani city of Nawabshah, close to the economic capital Karachi. Once this is completed, Pakistan will build the last 80 kilometers to Iran before the 2018 general elections. As part of an $46 billion economic corridor linking western China to the Middle East through Pakistan, Beijing recently started work on the section of the pipeline between Nawabshah and the port of Gwadar, close to the Iranian border. The pipeline could then become part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
At the broader level, Russia also seemed to endorse Iranian nuclear deal and subsequently IP pipeline that would allow Russia to show the members of so-called quadrilateral relationship that he has other options too available on the table. Russia has had closer relations with India but is pivoting more to Islamabad as New Delhi and Washington become closer allies.
Last but not the least, Iranian nuclear deal would help Pakistan and energy starved Asia in the long term, as the deal would allow Iran to contribute to region’s energy requirements in the shape of its gas and oil exports. Hence, the deal would also enhance and stabilize peace and economy of the region subsequently.

The article was published in Foreign Policy News on 30 July 2015.

Losing the Narrative

By: Munir Akram

IN a review of Anatol Lieven’s book Pakistan: A Hard Country, in the Guardian of May 1, 2011, Pankaj Mishra wrote:
“[…] [A]n un-blinkered vision of South Asia would feature a country whose fanatically ideological government in 1998 conducted nuclear tests, threatened its neighbour with all-out war and, four years later, presided over the massacre of 2,000 members of a religious minority. Long embattled against secessionist insurgencies […], the ‘flailing’ state […] now struggles to contain a militant movement in its heartland. It is also where thousands of women are killed every year for failing to bring sufficient dowry and nearly 200,000 farmers have committed suicide in the past decade.” Mishra added: “This country is not Pakistan; it is India.”
The review noted that India has revamped its Western image in a most successful rebranding and through one of “the cleverest PR campaigns.” On the other hand, Pakistan (which both Lieven and Christophe Jaffrelot, in his book The Pakistan Paradox, describe as a country with a surprisingly resilient society and institutions, despite a history of mis-governance) seems to have “lost the narrative”.
The joint statement issued in Ufa is the clearest and most recent confirmation of this unfortunate reality.
Normalisation between Pakistan and India is an imperative. But this can be achieved only if Pakistan pursues an equal relationship with clarity, confidence and persistence.

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Normalisation between Pakistan and India can be achieved only if Pakistan pursues an equal relationship.

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In recent interactions with India, Pakistan’s political leaders have displayed none of these attributes. They are being played like a fiddle by Modi.
Below are the essential aims Pakistan needs to project and promote vis-à-vis India.
Military balance:
India’s current military build-up poses an ever growing threat to Pakistan’s security and needs to be neutralised, either through arms control or a reciprocal defensive build-up.
To those, like the US, who argue that this is not aimed against Pakistan, it should be sufficient to point out that almost all of India’s capabilities are deployed against Pakistan; its military doctrines are Pakistan-specific; and threats of aggression against Pakistan are persistent and current.
Pakistan should propose bold and specific arms-control measures to India, bilaterally and through multilateral channels. The onus for refusal should rest on New Delhi. Simultaneously, Pakistan cannot be deterred by Western admonishments from taking measures, including short- and long-range missiles, to deter Indian aggression or adventurism.
Kashmir:
Kashmir remains a flashpoint for another Pakistan-India conflict. It cannot be put on a back channel. The ongoing exchanges along the Line of Control can easily escalate. Modi’s policies virtually ensure that, sooner rather than later, there will be another Kashmiri revolt. Islamabad would not be able to restrain support flowing to a new Kashmiri insurgency even if it wanted to. It is for New Delhi to halt its repression and human rights abuses, de-militarise Kashmir and engage in a constructive dialogue with Pakistan. This can avert a Kashmiri eruption and a Pakistan-India crisis.
Terrorism:
Pakistan is the major victim of terrorism in South Asia, with by some accounts 50,000 casualties since the US-led incursion into Afghanistan. Much of this terrorism has been sponsored or supported by India, as admitted recently by BJP leaders. India should not be allowed to adopt the victim’s mantle.
In Ufa, Pakistan should have insisted on reflecting Indian support to the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), insisted on an inquiry into the Samjhauta Express incident, and clarified that the legitimate Kashmiri struggle for self-determination does not amount to terrorism.
Trade and investment:
Trade with India can be mutually beneficial, especially in the exchange of natural resources and food, gas and energy supplies (from Iran and Central Asia). In manufactures, India competes with Pakistan and enjoys the advantage of size and a host of protections.
Similarly, the Indian investment regime is far more restrictive than that of Pakistan. The field has to be levelled before bilateral trade and investment can be fully opened.
Transit:
Transit through Pakistan to central and west Asia is a major Indian priority (although it is building an alternate route from Chabahar in Iran). Pakistan cannot provide such transit to India until the issue of Indian subversion through the BLA and the TTP has been resolved. Even after that, Pakistan should pose two conditions: one, that the upgradation of transit facilities involved should be financed by India or the regional countries involved (as China is doing on the Economic Corridor); and, two, that Pakistan should be accorded reciprocal rights for transit to Nepal and Bangladesh through India.
Water:
Access to water is fast emerging as an existential issue for Pakistan (and for India). To avoid food and ecological disasters, and a possible conflict, it has become vital for the two countries to live up to the principle of the equitable sharing of water enshrined in the Indus Waters Treaty. Pakistan must secure this aim bilaterally and through all available international avenues.
Composite agenda:
It is self-evident that all the issues between Pakistan and India are interlinked and interdependent. Progress on some will facilitate movement on others; and vice versa. The security issue and Kashmir were rightly accorded higher priority when the agenda for the composite dialogue was framed. The rationale for this priority is, if anything, more compelling today. It is purblind to restrict attention to terrorism only.
Foreign policy management:
The foreign policy lapse reflected in the Ufa statement is, unfortunately, not an isolated incident. There have been several other demonstrations of a naïve and simplistic approach to foreign affairs.
As has been noted in the Pakistani media, it reflects a dysfunction. The current complex structure at the apex of the foreign ministry is no doubt a major problem. An even larger problem is the inability of the professional foreign service to render good advice to the political leadership and/or the unwillingness of the leadership to accept it.
It is imperative to ‘normalise’ the structure, restore the primacy of the professional foreign service, integrate the security establishment into policymaking and appoint someone with the experience and independence required to formulate and project a foreign policy that reflects Pakistan’s vital interests and objectives and preserves its dignity.
The writer is a former Pakistan Ambassador to the UN.
Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2015

India May Have to Reap Tomorrow, What It is sowing in Pakistan Today – II

By:       Aasef Chauhdry

According to the officials, India indirectly finances the mercenaries like TTP and other banned outfits which do not have an agenda of their own but work for others to promote terror across the country. In this process, the Afghan soil is used. Pakistani authorities have handed over the proofs of the meetings between RAW agents and TTP Chief Mullah Fazalullah in Kandahar and Nimroz. According to the sources, India remunerates each militant ranging from $100 to $1000 for each missile fired at the security forces of Pakistan in Balochistan province. They have also the information relating to the presence of training camps of RAW in which the Baloch Liberation Army’s militants are instructed by Indian agents.
This is one side of the story, whereas on the other hand India is pressurizing UK Govt for not sharing terrorist financing trail with Pakistan so that its ulterior motives remain hidden. Recently BBC leaked a story about India funding the MQM and the scoop was with undeniable proofs which irritated and agitated the nervous Indians. The high level inquiry was demanded through media and public platforms and the bad news was that Altaf Hussain’s close adie Tariq Mir made the confession voluntarily to the Scotland Yard. According to Tariq Mir, Altaf Hussain got funding from India since 1994 while MQM workers were sent to India for training and they got training there and did a lot of target killing and terrorist activities in Karachi. His investigation continued for 15 hours at of Scotland Yard’s offices. Mir told London Metropolitan Police at a police station located in Edgeware Road that Indians used to pay 800,000 pound sterling to the party on a yearly basis for running operations. According to the reports, India had trained hundreds of MQM militants over the last 10 years.
Now comes the most sensitive threat caused by the Indian despicable subversive activities. According to the most reliable intelligence sources, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is facing a brand new security threat and the region bracketed for new intelligence coated terror invasion as Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Kumar Doval is launching a new Intelligence outfit of India that would be planning and executing operations, specific for China and Pakistan, especially targeting CPEC. Soon after US Secretary of State John Kerry, during his visit, snubbed Indian Premier Modi for RAW hand in terror across Pakistan, on the credible evidences provided to the US by Pakistani authorities, Ajit Kumar Doval held a detailed meeting with Modi and both agreed that a new Intelligence Cadre be created for operations against Pakistan as RAW was getting too exposed in this direction. According to sources at PMO, Modi asked Doval to send a detailed proposal to PMO to materialize this plan. The Daily Mail’s investigations indicate that following this meeting, Modi from the platform of National security Council Secretariat (NSCS), sent a concept paper to PMO in the 2nd week of January this year, suggesting to raise a new cadre of Intelligence as the first attempt at restructuring the security architecture since 1968, when the external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) was carved out of the Intelligence Bureau (IB). Since Doval plans to induct certain former officials of Afghan Intelligence NDS, operators of TTP and functionaries of ETIM as well as many other foreign elements from media in the new agency, hence he has suggested that the open market recruitments may be made by special provisions and amendments in relevant laws and the recruits may be provided Indian nationalities as well.
Interestingly the Indians have indirectly been threatening China of getting ready to face utmost security threats for investing in Pakistan via CPEC. For instance, the day Chinese President Xi Jinping reached Pakistan on State visit to formally inaugurate CPEC, the Indian media, through a motivated campaign, released special news reports, glorifying the militant might of TTP and ‘announced’ that the TTP terrorists had attained the capability to manufacture shoulder-mounted missile and to prove it as true the Indian media straightaway emerged as spokesperson for TTP and tried to portray the tragic crash of a Pakistan army helicopter, which was purely due to technical reasons, as a shooting down by TTP via said missile. It was probably that time when the Chinese government officially warned Pakistan about RAW’s terror plans against CPEC and also expressed concerned over deteriorating security situation in Baluchistan that holds the end point of CPEC at Gwadar port.
India is making desperate efforts to destabilize Pakistan but what they are forgetting is that their cronies like TTP and BLA have already met their horrible fate at the hands of Pakistan army while their internal security situation is once again at the stake, especially after the rise of Khalistan Movement again. The earlier they realize is the better it would be for them.

Why India Blames Pakistan for Gurdaspur Terror attack?

By Sajjad Shaukat

India has a history of surprise attacks by terrorists, grown at its home or supported by its secret agency RAW. In most of the cases, the aims behind are political. Therefore, India has always blamed Pakistan for various subversive acts.

In this regard, on July 27, this year, three gunmen dressed in army uniforms killed at least seven people, including three civilians and four policemen in the Indian district of Gurdaspur, Punjab—after a siege at a police station which was brought to an end by security forces after 12-hour-long gun battle.

Without any investigation, Indian high officials and media started blaming Pakistan, its banned militant outfits and intelligence agencies for the Gurdaspur incident. Indian Police believe that the attackers are from Indian-held Kashmir, and some said that they were Sikh separatists, while Indian Punjab police chief claimed that the three gunmen were Muslim, but as yet unidentified. Contradicting speculations, India’s Home Minister Rajnath Singh told parliament that the gunmen came from Pakistan. Besides Indian renowned newspapers and TV channels also covered the Gurdaspur event by saying that the terrorists belong to Pakistan-based banned groups Lashkar-e-Jhangvi or Jash-e-Mohammad.

Rejecting New Delhi’s false accusations, Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah said, “Pakistan has condemned the Gurdaspur attack…it is unfortunate that India is pointing fingers even before the investigation is complete…Pakistan being a victim of terrorism itself is against all forms of terrorism.”

Meanwhile, Khalistan Movement Chief Manmohan Singh stated that the Gurdaspur incident is a conspiracy of India’s RAW to defame Pakistan.

However, in the recent past, prior to the US President Obama’s second visit to New Delhi, Indian intelligence agencies orchestrated a boat drama to defame Pakistan, allegedly reporting that a Pakistani fishing boat as a Pakistan-based outfit group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) was intercepted by Indian Coast Guards, off the coast of Porebandar, Gujarat. And Indian Coast Guard crew set the boat on fire and it exploded. But, its reality exposed Indian terrorism, because, some Indian high officials admitted that there was no such boat which came from Pakistan.

Similarly, India intends to obtain various hidden purposes by accusing Pakistan for Gurdaspur terror attack. First of all, it wants to divert the attention of the international community from the involvement of RAW which has been arranging terrorist activities in Pakistan.

In this respect, RAW has well-established its network in Afghanistan, and is fully assisting cross-border incursions and terror-activities in various regions of Pakistan through Baloch separatist elements and anti-Pakistan groups like Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA), Jundullah and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) including their affiliated outfits. They also abducted and killed many Chinese and Iranian nationals. On a number of occasions, these insurgent groups claimed responsibility for their acts of sabotage.

In fact, RAW is making efforts to weaken Afghanistan, Tibetan regions of China and Pakistan, particularly Balochistan by promoting subversive activities, sense of dissent, political volatility, sectarian violence and arousing sentiments of separatism.

It is mentionable that India which has already invested billion of dollars in Afghanistan, also signed a wide-ranging strategic agreement with that country on October 5, 2011. The then President Hamid Karzai had also signed another agreement with New Delhi to obtain Indian arms and weapons. While, under the cover of these agreements, India has further strengthened its grip in Afghanistan. By taking advantage of lawlessness in Afghanistan, India is up to its usual tirade to foment an environment by conducting terrorist attacks in that country to prove that Pakistan is creating trouble for Afghanistan.

While, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani realized that Afghanistan and Pakistan are facing similar challenges of terrorism and will combat this threat collectively. On May 18, 2015, the two countries signed the security agreement—Pakistan’s primary spy agency ISI and Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) to share intelligence and conduct coordinated operations against terrorists. And, frequent visits of Pak-Afghan civil and military leaders to each other’s country also annoy India.

It is notable that Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif accompanied by the DG of ISI went to Kabul on December 17, 2014. During his meeting with his Afghan counterpart, President Ashraf Ghani and the ISAF commander, he presented the evidence of linkage between the massacre of children at Peshawar school and TTP sanctuaries in Afghanistan. He also asked about action against the TTP and handing over of its chief Mullah Fazlullah to Pakistan. In response, Afghan government and US have started taking action against the TTP. A number of TTP militants have been killed and captured in Afghanistan, while Fazlullah survived in a drone attack. Meanwhile, Washington has also designated Mullah Fazlullah as a global terrorist and seized his bank accounts.

And, waging a prolonged war in Afghanistan, the US and other NATO countries have realized that after the withdrawal of foreign troops, Afghanistan would be thrown in an era of uncertainly and civil war. They recognize the fact and terrorism or stability in Pakistan and Afghanistan is interrelated. Hence, US-led developed nations which also spent billions of dollars for the development of Afghanistan have repeatedly agreed that without Islamabad’s help, stability cannot be achieved there. In this connection, a meeting was hosted by Pakistan between the Afghan officials and representatives of Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan in Murree (On July 8, this year) and dialogue were conducted for an Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process, while the representatives of China and America also participated in the meeting. The participants expressed their collective desire to bring peace to Afghanistan and the region—agreed to continue talks through the next meetings.

In this backdrop of growing engagements of Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and US, Indian desperation in Afghanistan is increasing. Moreover, New Delhi is trying to sabotage the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Recent terror-attacks in Pakistan and Balochistan might be noted as instance. In this context, Indian backed Baloch secessionists have been directed to step up their activities on the CPEC project. Indian RAW has also created a heavily funded China-Pakistan and Afghanistan specific desk to target growing Pak-China-Afghanistan relations.

Furthermore, on the direction of the Indian leader of the fundamentalist party BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indian forces have accelerated unprovoked shelling across the Line of Control and Working Boundary, while creating war-like situation between Pakistan and India.

Notably, Islamabad has decided to raise the question of Indian cross-border terrorism and RAW involvement in Pakistan, with strong evidence in light of open statements of Indian defence minister and Prime Minister Modi who recently confirmed assistance to anti-Pakistan elements including separation of East Pakistan.

Nevertheless, due to the new developments which favour stability in Pakistan and other regional countries, India in frustration, blames Pakistan for Gurdaspur terror attack.

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