| Welcome to Global Village Space

Saturday, April 13, 2024

‘Pakistanis can deceive fathers for money’: Is Sharif speaking Gaurav Arya’s language?

Prime Minister Imran Khan said PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif is playing a "dangerous game" by leveling allegations of political interference against the army and claimed that the former premier has India's support. Read GVS detailed News Analysis to understand the background behind the premier’s comments.

Gaurav Arya, retired Indian Army Major, has confessed that the Indians give money to some Pakistanis and obtained important information to target the army and other security institutions. He also admitted that the information about the Chairman China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority’s family was also obtained like this.

https://twitter.com/MusaNV18/status/1311727789624586241?s=20

However, the news report on the alleged business dealings of Asim Saleem Bajwa was decidedly rebuffed last month after it emerged that the journalist responsible for writing the report had actually been relying on the testimony of a notorious social media influencer with deep ties to the Indian Army.

Arya also admitted that they are now running a campaign against General Qamar Javed Bajwa to weaken the army. “We give money to Pakistanis and they give us information. You give 30 to 50 thousand to Pakistanis and see what happens. They can deceive their fathers.”

Political commentators in Pakistan are of the view that some politicians also play in the hands of Indian agencies. In this regard, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s statements and recent attempts to belittle the armed forces are being sighted.

Nawaz blamed the military establishment for installing Imran Khan as the prime minister during his address on September 20. He also demanded a thorough inquiry into allegations leveled against Gen (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa.

On October 1, Prime Minister Imran Khan said PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif is playing a “dangerous game” by levelling allegations of political interference against the army and claimed that the former premier has India’s support.

In an interview with journalist Nadeem Malik on Samaa TV, he also said the relations between his government and the military are the “best in history” because all institutions are working in their spheres. “This is a dangerous game Nawaz is playing; Altaf Hussain played the same game,” he said, adding that he was “100 per cent” sure that India was helping the PML-N leader.

There is a predominant view that when the incumbent government has adequately tackled the COVID-19 challenge and attempted to upgrade the economy, Nawaz’s attempt to topple the same raises an eyebrow.

Moreover, analysts also point out that India in involved in destabilizing Pakistan with the help of separatist elements in Pakistan. Politicians should, opine senior analysts, remain careful if their narrative is being influenced by the Indian lobby.  G. M Pitafi, a Lahore-based academic, argues that Nawaz’s recent statements are a reminder of the fact that “for politicians what matters is power”.

I am in touch with Baloch terrorists, Gaurav Arya

A months ago before militancy got intensified in Balochistan, a clip from an Indian talk show has gone viral following the incident. During the talk show, Gaurav Arya openly hurled threats at Pakistan and predicted a terror incident in Balochistan ‘in 10-15 days’.

“I am in touch with Baloch freedom fighters [terrorists]. The Punjabi Pakistani Army, we will give them such a bloody nose that these people will remember for ten generations”, he had said. He went on to say that he has their [Baloch terrorists’] contact numbers in his mobile phone and he is in touch with them ‘almost every day’. He added that he told them about the entire Indian population stands with the ‘Baloch struggle’ [terrorism].

India is trying to destabilize Pakistan?

In 2019, the security forces successfully foiled attempts to spread terrorism and violence in Gilgit, Baltistan, and busted another network of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) involved in carrying out terrorist and extremist activities in Pakistan. But the RAW supports Baloch terrorists has already been in the news.

According to details, the intelligence agencies have arrested at least 14 members of the nationalist organization, Balawaristan National Front (Hameed Group), and seized weapons and explosive materials from their possession. It is also reported that the leaders of the anti-Pakistan group have also surrendered, who were given the task to sabotage the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Media reports suggest that the RAW took BNF chairman, Abdul Hameed Khan, to India in 1999 and was given a three-star apartment in Dehli, where his family and three sons were shifted. RAW also provided identification proofs and facilities to Khan for starting a business in India, while his sons had been given expensive education in different schools and colleges in India and Europe.

Similarly, four years ago, Pakistan arrested Kulbhushan Yadav, who is a serving naval office of India, for destabilizing Pakistan through sponsoring Baloch terrorists. In a video, Commander Kulbhushan Yadav, while admitting his role in terror-related activities in Pakistan has said; “My purpose was to hold meetings with the Baloch terrorists and carry out activities with their collaboration. These activities have been of criminal nature, leading to the killing of or maiming of Pakistani citizens.”

He explicitly narrated that the Indian intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), is involved in a separatist movement in Pakistan. “I realize during this process that RAW is involved in some activities related to the Baloch liberation movement within Pakistan and the region around it”, he clarified.

Dr Zafar Nawaz Jaspal, Associate Professor, School of Politics and International Relations, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, opines that “The RAW and its allies sponsored terrorist strikes in Balochistan. They carefully crafted to ignite the sectarian divide in Quetta to spoil the societal and religious harmony among the people of the area and also terrorize the investors, who have been contemplating investing in Balochistan due to the development of Gwadar city’s port and the inauguration of an international airport. To terrorize the government employs commuting on the Makran Coastal Highway; the terrorist offloaded 14 employees of Pakistan Navy and Coast Guards and shot them cold-bloodedly.”

Mr Jaspal also noted that “Nonetheless, it is an open secret that Indian intelligence agency, RAW has been sponsoring and conducting terrorist activities in Pakistan particularly at the sites of CPEC to impede the developmental work and frustrate the investors. It had crafted a terrorist network in Balochistan to obstruct the construction of CPEC infrastructure. On 03 March 2016, during a counter-intelligence operation, the Pakistani law enforcement agencies arrested RAW’s chief operator, a serving commander in the Indian Navy Kulbhushan Yadav, managing terrorist activities in Balochistan.”

Read More: Why PM Imran Khan did not accept Gen. Asim Bajwa’s resignation?

Some analysts slam Pakistan’s political elite for their lack of will and understanding of international politics to develop a narrative on the basis of hard facts in the form of Commando Kulbhushan to prove India-sponsored terrorism in the country. More than 8o thousand people have been killed in terrorist attacks in Pakistan and there has been direct or indirect involvement of India in all these.

Nawaz Sharif is also often criticized for not even being able to name Kulbhushan at international forums. Dr Moeed Pirzada, of 92 News, three years ago, kept on asking to formally plead the case of Pakistan before the international community where Indian intellectuals and scholars, along with Indian media, have established a link between terror and Pakistan. The former premier is now seeming to validating the same because of his rivalry against the military establishment.