Reema Shaukat
Pakistan faces several internal and external challenges on many fronts. But unfortunately, the covert operations and efforts to sabotage its sovereignty has remained prime objective of its foes. Sinister activities by its inherent neighbour India and its intelligence agency have always remained on maximum to disturb Pakistan’s stability. Recent arrest of Indian spy Kulbhushan Yadavand the confessions made by him show that Indian tactics to destabilize Pakistan are never going to end. Earlier nexus of R&AW with Afghan intelligence agency NDS and its involvement in sponsoring activities of ETIM were exposed and revealed how India is involved in sponsoring state terrorism and always intends to create instability in the region.
We have seen R&AW actively involved in Baluchistan province where its nefarious agenda was to support militant organizations for terrorist activities in Pakistan. It has remained involved in mass killings of innocents like Hazaras apart from supporting separatist movements in Baluchistan. Horrendously despite knowing these facts and often highlighted in media too,India never bothers to look into its own policy matters and turmoil within its own intelligence agency as it is more concerned to poke into matters of Pakistan. Recently, R&AW has faced shameless acts within its own organization. The agency has been challenged with stroppymesses and national security failures, especially the defections from within its ranks due to the unexplainable anguish and dejection haunting its senior officials. On 17 April 2016, it was reported that three officers of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) “willingly fled” to a Western country which has a history of accepting and facilitating such disappearances of Indian intelligence officers. All were posted on senior levels and had shifted their families to that western country much before they themselves disappeared. Two of the officers were handling two South Asian countries, while the third was handling a large East Asian country. It is assumed that all three were working for the Western countries for long and in all likelihood have passed on vital information before disappearing.
This is not for the first time that officers working for the Indian spy agency have “willingly disappeared”. As per official records, since the creation of the agency in 1968, nine such instances have been reported with the famous defection case of Rabinder Singh who was joint secretary in RAW,absconded to the United States in 2004. Most of the other agents had deserted while they were posted in Western Europe or North America.Apart from defection, Indian intelligence agency R&AW is also troubled by other problems mainly favouritism in promotions, corruption, ego clashes, absence of financial accountability and inter-departmental rivalry etc. The agency also suffers from ethnic imbalances in the officer cadre. The agency officials have also developed strong tendency to exploit their status for unlawful activities. A former chief AshokChaturvedi is accused of utilizing funds for personal and family leisure trips. Many officials have suffered seriously at the hands of senior officials on harassment. On 19 August 2008 a female Director (Language) namely Ms Bhatia who had served as head of R&AW Training Institute in Gurgaon, tried to commit suicide in front of Prime Minister’s Office, alleging inaction and wrong findings of harassment complaint filed against a Joint Secretary, who was on deputation to R&AW. She was discharged from duty on the ground that she was mentally unfit.
It is worth mentioning thatdue to growing influence of a particular group of Indian Police Services (IPS) and Indian Army over R&AW, the organizations is steadily turning into a “Hindu fascist” entity promoting and supporting Hindu radicalization of Indian society in collaboration with RSS, BJP, Bajrang Dal, VHP etc. The deplorable condition of minorities in India may be attributed to the same nexus. Another element ascribing to the defections of the agency is low wages as compared to other departments of the Indian government. It has been reported that the salary and other benefits of intelligence officials are at par with the state police and clerks. Moreover, risk allowance in both the Intelligence Bureau and R&AW has been reduced to 15 percent whereas central agencies like CBI get at least 25 per cent risk allowance. Indian government under BJP has tried to pacify the growing frustration in the ranks of R&AW and IB officials by announcing a revision of their pay structure, however, the claim still needs materialization.
It is also admitted by the Indian officials that domestic intelligence agency is facing a shortage of over 7,000 skilled professionals to generate and disseminate crucial intelligence input. According to government figures released in 2013, IB had only 18,795 personnel against the sanctioned strength of 26,867 officers. External spy agency R&AW has strength of around9,000 officers, including field agents serving on deputation. The R&AW cadre is shrinking and in 2012 the agency was forced to seek the help of Department of Personnel & Training to tide over the manpower shortage. Now with such loopholes in its own system question arises that how come an organization which claims itself as best has never tried to find out problems of its employees. It’s already known that R&AW never brings out true picture and relies on fabricating stories. But with such instances which are happening recurrently in its organization it must needs to focus on its own issues rather involving in wicked acts of spying in Pakistan. The above mentioned facts not only show rattled situation of R&AW but depicts that the organization has always adopted “an ostrich approach” and cared nothing about the boiling lava of countless problems and uneasiness in its employees.
