Nazia Nazar
After the arrest of RAW’s terrorist Kulbushan Yadev, Indian government said that he was arrested some three weeks before the confessional video was released. It termed Yadev’s act as an act of an individual and had nothing to do with Indian government or its intelligence agencies. It is not anything unique about it, as the kind of denials, ruses and posturing comes so natural to Indian leaderships, both Congress and BJP, all time shamelessly and brazenly. On March 11, 2010, a twin-suicide attack had struck in R.A. Bazaar cantonment area in Lahore, killing at least 50 people including eight soldiers and injuring 120 others, followed by a series of low-intensity explosions. Then Indian’s external affairs minister S.M. Krishna had denied Indian involvement in Lahore terrorists blasts.
The diabolical role of Indian military and intelligence in a united Pakistan’s breakup with full concurrence of the then ruling Indian Congress is too well known. Whereas Indian government offered justifications for India’s intervention, various Indian actors who were personally involved in the venture penned down pridefully their vile acts. Recently, Indian channel “Times Now” aired a program ‘The News Hour’ on the issue of confessional statement of Indian spy rather RAW terrorist, Kulbhushan Yadev on 30 March 2016. Arnab Goswami, Editor-in-Chief, said: “The whole world is now laughing at this badly edited, superimposed, 100% fake video prepared by Pakistan.” Another strategic affairs analyst claimed that Kulbhushan Yadev was in custody for about three weeks or more before Pakistani agencies compiled the film.
BJP’s Convener Foreign Affairs Cell was of the view that Pakistan government should now intervene and within the next 48 hours they must handover Jadhav to the Indian Embassy in Islamabad. Tariq Fateh ex-TV producer in PTV said: “This is not the first time that Pakistan military produced such video. Some of us remember the 1973 video production of what was called “The Islamabad Arms Halls from the Iraqi Embassy’s going to Balochistan”. Colonel (retd) Shafqat, Defense Analyst, replied that the video was not edited. All those confidential matters which were not supposed to be made public were taken out. However, Indian government functionaries, politicians and media men continue ruminating the government version. As general public has also been brainwashed, some individuals during interviews also lambasted Pakistan for releasing, what they said, the fake video.
In Pakistan, a six-minute video was released at a joint press conference by Pakistan’s Information Minister Pervez Rashid and ISPR spokesperson Major General Asim Bajwa on 29 March 2016, in which Kulbhushan Yadev, the Indian Navy officer arrested on charges spying, records his confessional statement whos is a serving navy officer and an operative of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). Kulbhushan Yadev started intelligence operations in 2003 and established a small business in Chabahar in Iran. He visited Karachi in 2003 and 2004 and completed some basic assignments within India for RAW. Since 2013 he has been directing various activities in Balochistan and Karachi at the behest of RAW. He revealed that he was working under Anil Kumar Gupta, Joint Secretary, RAW, and had contacts with Baloch Student Organisation.
His mission was to hold meeting with Baloch insurgents and carry out activities with their collaboration. Main aim of his crossing over into Pakistan was to hold meeting with the BSN personnel in Balochistan for carrying out various activities which they were supposed to undertake and carry back messages to the Indian agencies. Indian government as usual is in a denial mode and has rejected the allegation that Kulbushan Yadev acted at its behest, and counter-charged that the former navy officer was “tutored” by Pakistanis. Indian Ministry of External Affairs stated: “We have seen a video released by Pakistani authorities of a former Indian Naval officer, doing business in Iran, who is in Pakistani custody under unexplained circumstances.”
Anyhow, Pakistan military has been able to decimate the infrastructure and destroy hideouts of the terrorists, and both civil and military leadership is resolved to root out the menace of terrorism from its soil. There is a redeeming feature, that India is drawing flak for its policies towards minorities, and Indian media is already actively highlighting the radicalization of Indian Society, pathetic state of Minorities in India and its eroding secularism. Anyhow, Pakistan should seek fresh avenues of regional cooperation. Regional forum, including China and Central Asia will be a great platform to coordinate efforts to fight terrorism. China and Pakistan are partners in the CPEC project; however, there is need to sensitize china on the Indian efforts to spoil Pak-China friendship and cooperation.
