Indian Connection with Mullah Fazal Ullah

-SK Sharma-

In recent history, Pakistan has suffered the most both in terms of human and material losses in the ongoing global war against terror as it become a frontline state after 9/11. As a consequence of American invasion of Afghanistan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan, including North and South Waziristan, become a sanctuary for a huge number of Afghan and foreign militants from across the border, they formed different groups and indulged in terrorist activities in Pakistan independently or in coordination with others.

            India which has never accepted Pakistan’s independence has been making efforts from the outset to weaken and destabilize Pakistan. Be it occupation of Kashmir by Indian troops or Indian hand in formation of Bangladesh, New Delhi has never let an opportunity let go to harm Pakistan. As Pakistan is engaged in wiping out terrorism, India has developed nexus with these groups so that terrorist attacks in Pakistan can be planned and executed.

Recently, US Secretary of State John Kerry took Modi to the woodshed with "hard evidence" of India's continuing support of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its chief Mullah Fazlullah currently sheltered in Afghanistan.  The US has since put Mullah Fazlullah on its most wanted terrorist list. The media report quoting high placed sources confirmed and US team started deliberations with Modi and his team in a very polite manner but the heat was generated when Indian side completely refused to admit having any role in TTP led terrorism in Pakistan. “The atmosphere in the room after Kerry and Modi had lunch together, changed when Premier Modi very blatantly stated that he and his government was so shocked to hear about the Peshawar School Terror that the schools and both the houses of the Parliament observed moment of silence to mourn the Peshawar School Terror and thus there could be no Indian hand involved in it.” In response, the sources say, Americans "got furious and showed some hard evidences of Mulla Fazalulla and RAW nexus in Afghanistan to influx terror in Pakistan. The American side took the Indian side quite aggressively and also snubbed Modi over the highly objectionable role of his National Security Advisor Ajit Kumar Doval ".

The reports adds: "Modi and his team were grilled over the admissions of Ajit Doval of funding and utilizing TTP terrorists to destabilize Pakistan and Modi was asked to tame Doval and Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) both in this direction. Modi was told to end India’s patronization of Mulla Fazalulla in Afghanistan and it was made it clear to Modi and his team that the US was about to place Mulla Fazalulla on list of global terrorists and an Indian pampering of him would jeopardize the US-India relations ".

Recent terrorist attack in a school in Peshawar has crossed all limits of in humanity what is surfacing now is RAW TTP nexus behind Peshawar School Attack.  Pakistan has traced the telephonic discussion of militants who attacked on school in Peshawar. Evidences were found that RAW TTP nexus  is involved in this incident.

Pakistan Army Chief General Raheel Sharif in his visit to Kabul  presented evidence about involvement of RAW and Afghan intelligence and connection of TTP with Indian consulates. Strong evidences were found for involvement of (National Directorate of Security) NDS and its strong ties with TTP leaders. Lately it has also surfaced further that Narendra Modi’s National Defense Secretary also visited Kandhar for a meeting arranged by Afghanistans National Directorate of Security and met with TTP leaders to activate terrorist activities in Pakistan.

We should also not forget that former US Secretary of State, Chuck Hegel had also accused India of exporting terrorism to Pakistan via Afghanistan and his remarks in this regard are still on official record which says; “India has over the years financed problems for Pakistan”, “India for some time has always used Afghanistan as a second front”

In reality, India is continuously promoting instability in Pakistan by financing and abetting terrorists in various parts of the country through Afghanistan. Being in geographical contiguity with Afghanistan, the provinces of Balochistan, KPK and FATA has been directly affected by the activities from across the Pak – Afghan border. Besides Hegal, there are many more officials and analysts who pointed out Indian involvement towards destabilization of Pakistan through Afghan soil. In this regards, Christine Fair, a US based writer and fellow of RAND Corporation, highlighted a few years back in Foreign Policy magazine about the anti – Pakistan activities of RAW in Indian Embassy at Kabul, Indian Consulates in bordering cities of Afghanistan and even Indian Consulate in the Iranian border city of Zahidan. She wrote that, “Having visited the Indian mission in Zahedan, Iran, I can assure you they are not issuing visas as the main activity. Moreover, India has run operations from its mission in Mazar (through which it supported the Northern Alliance) and is likely doing so from the other Consulates it has reopened in Jalalabad and Kandahar along the border”. India has been providing a huge amount for the training of Baloch sub nationalists. Indeed, the so called missing Baloch youth undergo training in various parts of Afghanistan under Indian spying agency RAW and cross over to Pakistan for the terrorists activities.

There are signs that India has stepped up its covert war against Pakistan since the election of the Hindu Nationalist government of Prime Minister Modi. The first sign is the appointment of an anti-Pakistan hawk Ajit Doval as Modi's National Security Advisor. As a key part of his long service to India's intelligence establishment, Doval says he served as an undercover RAW agent in Pakistan for seven years. Given all the circumstantial evidence of Indian support of Baloch insurgents' and TTP's war against Pakistan,  the Pakistan can launch further counterinsurgency operations like ZarbeAzb  to stop the Indian funded terrorists committing innocent civilian carnage on  streets and schools.

The overall counterinsurgency strategy of the international community must include serious efforts to cut off support and funding for the TTP and the Baloch insurgents from  external sources, and disruption of the Indian intelligence network operating against Pakistan from Afghanistan. Pakistan’s Military Spokesman Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa while giving updates on operation Zarb-e-Azb and developments on investigation into Peshawar School terrorist attack  said that the militants involved in the Army Public School (APS) massacre have been identified and smashed, revealed that nine out of 27 terrorists involved in an attack on APS have been killed and six  others were apprehended . “Two more culprits, including Mulla Fazlullah and Umar Ameer are still in Afghanistan.  He further informed the media that they intercepted vital information which proved that the APS attack was carried out on the directions of Mulla Fazlullah, who through Umar Ameer supervised the attack. He also said that India is funding banned organization Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Balochistan. He said that a banned outfit cannot function on such a big scale unless foreign powers are funding it. “India has been conducting illegal activities in Pakistan for a long time,”

International community needs to realize and expose Indian covert activities to establish regional hegemony. Pakistan is not the only victim of these Indian in machinations but almost every country of South Asia has been suffering at hands of India.