Syeda Mazhar
Having remained shrouded in mystery since day one, the drama of the so-called terror boat is now unfolding. The latest Indian media reports actually confirmed our findings,” Tasneem Aslam, a foreign office spokesman briefed at the weekly update on media.
The drama that one of the boats belonging to Pakistan had entered the Indian waters on 31st December 2014 and was set to fire was unveiled. The Indian Coast Guard petrol vessels claimed that a suspicious boat that belonged to Pakistan was seen in Indian waters on the night of 31st December. According to the recorded statements of Indian Coast Guard DIG BK Loshali, the boat was set ablaze after an hour of emergency surveillance.
“Let me tell you,” DIG BK Loshali said, “I hope you remember 31st December night… we blew off that Pakistan… We have blown them off… I was there at Gandhinagar and I told at night, blow the boat off. We don’t want to serve them biryani…”
However when his statement came up on the social media, he completely denied his stance on the whole matter which led to another controversy.
“Whatever has been reported… is not factual and I do not subscribe to the text. I have not made this statement. However, I had made the statement that anti-national elements do not need to be served biryani and to be handled as per the law. As a matter of fact, the operation was not being handled by me and was spearheaded by Commander, Coast Guard Region (NW) and ops team being classified in nature; I was not privy to it completely. I reiterate the boat set herself on fire and was not sunk by the Coast Guard,” stated Dig BK Loshali in response to the allegations against him.
The Indian government tackled the whole matter by stating that the boat appeared to be suspicious and the crew members who were hiding under the deck set the vessel on fire. The statement contradicted to the one made earlier my BK Loshali. The Pakistani government was unclear about whether or not the boat belonged to Pakistan because none of the boats were claimed to missing and thus called it a fake Indian boat drama. The intransigent Indian Government officials proclaimed that the boat was suspected to have terror links and belonged to Pakistan but the crew members themselves set the sire thus it was suicide and not an attack. This statement contradicted with the claim made by the Indian Express report.
The Indian Navy denied all the accusations against Pakistan regarding the boat and clearly stated that there was no suspicious entry into the Indian waters or the Indian Navy would have taken an action against it. “If the JOC was alerted about any such actionable intelligence, the Navy would have definitely moved its assets,” stated an Indian Naval official. The Pakistani Government and officials reacted to the allegations in a patient manner and some even overlooked the matter. However, the international community was called upon to take charge of the matter and settle down the false allegations.
“It has once again been proven that India has violated international rules and disregarded the humanitarian considerations,” said Defence Minister Khawaja Asif. The defence minister responded against the allegations by calling them false and baseless. He also discouraged the act of killing four innocent people who could have accidentally crossed the line. “India has once again proved to be heinous in its face, design and urge for peace,” Khawaja Asif announced. He also pointed out the inconsistency between DIG BK Loshali’s and the Indian government’s statements.
The investigations were carried out and an inquiry was filed against DIG BK Loshali who was the chief of staff at that time. The Indian minister of defence, Manohar Parrikar said, “I will check if he has made the statement properly, word to word, whatever is reported. We will take action against the person if required.”
BK Loshali was finally made to face a court martial due to his act in September 2015. “Given the severity of the officer’s action, he will face a court martial. The inquiry had recommended stringent action against him,” said an anonymous person from the ministry of defence. “The BOI had called for strict action. The General Court Martial Proceedings against DIG B K Loshali will start in September,” said anonymous person from the ministry of defence. According to the Indian Express, the intelligence and the government sources clearly declared “use of disproportionate force” against the fishermen by the coast guard. After the board of inquiry was inducted in August the court martial regarding the boat attack and false allegations on Pakistan was carried DIG BK Loshali was appointed to Coast Guard’s Zonal headquarters. The news did not hit social media in particular but according to anonymous sources BK Loshali was immediately dismissed from the Indian Coast Guard.
