RAWs footprints By: Khurshid Anwer Mirza | September 01, 2012 | 18 In the recent attack on PAFs Kamra Airbase, the militants obvious
target was the AWAC (Airborne warning and control) aircraft. The PAF
had recently acquired three from Sweden. These aircrafts are
expensive, very sophisticated and highly effective for air surveillance,
looking deep into the enemys territory and for guiding own fighters
onto their targets even below the ground-based radars coverage. These aircrafts are force multipliers and, therefore, very potent.
We may also recall the attack on Pak navys Mehran Base at Karachi
conducted not so very long ago. The attackers ignored the aircraft
parked at the adjacent PAF base as well as those based on its naval
side - their targets were the two Orion naval surveillance aircraft
acquired from the US. These aircrafts, too, are highly effective in detecting and destroying hostile submarines as well as surface ships
by day, night and in all weather conditions.
Considering that neither the air force AWACs, nor the navys Orions
had any part to play in the anti-terrorist operations, why were these
aircrafts singled out as targets? Did the TTP-hired guns have any
gumption about the various types of aircraft and their functions? Obviously, not! They were merely following the instructions of their
paymasters.
Let us shift our gaze to what was happening in Balochistan. Apart from
daily killings and kidnappings, the militants had been targeting
income-generating facilities, like the railways, sui gas installations,
electricity pylons, etc, besides spreading sectarian violence. They had also been targeting the Chinese, who were helping us in various
development projects in Balochistan and elsewhere. Here again, the
systematic choice of targets - economic, sectarian, etc - provided clue
to the real planners and perpetrators while the militants were merely
the cats paw.
Move back further in time to Lahore and recall the attack on Sri Lankas cricket team. Pray what had the Sri Lankans to do with the Taliban or
Nifaz-e-Sharia? None, of course! The aim was to bring a bad name to
Pakistan and to isolate it from international cricket. Surely, that was
not the objective of the Taliban!
Thus, the spectrum of violence from economic targets to attack on
sensitive military installations, especially their high value assets, to sectarian killings and attack/abduction of foreigners, clearly indicated
method to the madness - much beyond the ken of Taliban. The
objectives of those well planned attacks were wide and varied: to
destabilise the country, to undermine its economy, to isolate it from its
friends, to denigrate Pakistans image internationally, to degrade its
defence capability, to sow the seeds of hatred among the people. Above all, to show that if Pakistan cannot effectively defend its
sensitive defence installations and control the widespread militancy
and the lawlessness, how could it defend its nuclear assets!
It should be obvious that all those well thought out attacks could not
be the work of simple, gun trotting Taliban. Who could be supporting
them with the necessary funds, intelligence and planning? By the mere process of elimination of the countries that could be
behind such terrorist activities in this region, the finger clearly points
towards India with which Pakistan has fought several major and minor
wars since independence. To be specific, Indias notorious agency, RAW,
(the architect of Bangladesh) having established itself in Afghanistan
(thanks to Musharraf) is playing merry - hell with Pakistan - of course with the support of the Afghan government and Mossad.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik, and other high officials before him, had
time and again accused the RAW for the ills going on in Pakistan. Even
international observers like Christine Fair after her visit to Afghanistan
had categorically stated that the Indian Consulates established there
were involved in subversive activities against Pakistan. In fact, they had confided in her that they were pumping money into Balochistan.
However, the Indian Interior Minister had claimed that there was not
a shred of evidence about Indias involvement!
Perhaps, his confident utterance was not entirely misplaced. For RAWs
strategy was highly secretive - based on four Ms.
M for man: To select a rebellious leader like Mujibur Rehman (East Pakistan), Brahamdagh Khan Bugti (Balochistan), Hakeemullah Mehsud
(Fata), Malvi Fazlullah (Swat), and Maulana Azam (late).To provide the
top men with funds, intelligence and weaponry, but let them deal with
their hired goous while RAW stayed in the background. So even when
some militants were captured no one would be the wiser.
M for mission: The chosen leader must have a mission that should be propagated, as the aspiration of the majority. Like the demand for
Bangladesh, Azad Balochistan, Nifaz-e-Sharia, etc.
M for militancy: To achieve the selected mission, they must resort to
militancy based on the local mercenaries under the banner of
appealing names like Mukti Bahini, BLA, TTP, etc.
M for money and munitions: The militants must be supported with money and sophisticated weaponry.
How do we effectively counter RAWs sinister aims?
First and foremost, the government and the armed forces must
acknowledge the fact that a covert war had been unleashed against
Pakistan to destabilise and, if possible, disintegrate Pakistan. What
Pakistan was facing was not the run-of-the-mill militancy, but a full- fledged guerrilla warfare, totally beyond the capacity of the police and
the civil armed forces. We must realise that after our attaining nuclear
capability, the only option left for India was to destabilise Pakistan
through covert operations - as open war would invite a nuclear
response.
The armed forces must take charge before it is too late to coordinate the internal security of the country against the covert war, which was
slowly eating into the vitals of the country. Additionally, we must set
up an anti-RAW agency by pooling experienced personnel from
various spy agencies. Its sole purpose should be to focus entirely on
RAWs machinations, to anticipate and to forestall them. And if push
comes to a shove to give RAW a taste of its own medicine. We must realise that we are in a state of war and, therefore, the peace time
procedures and lackadaisical approach would only spell disaster.
In the end, a word for our peaceniks. By all means pursue your dream
of Aman ki Asha indeed, any sensible person would want the two
countries with their teeming millions living below the poverty line to
be on friendly terms and not waste their limited resources in war mongering. Unfortunately, it will forever remain just an Asha, if the
Indians do not change their mindset of Atoot Ang vis-à-vis Kashmir
and Akhund Bharat vis-à-vis Pakistan.
It is very rightly said that actions speak louder than words. Pogrom at
independence; the forcible occupation of the Muslim majority state of
Kashmir; the Rann of Kutch battle; the 1965 war (India was the first to cross international border unannounced); the 1971 war thrust upon us
without any provocation as such (to create Bangladesh); the
occupation of Siachen; the building dams on three western rivers in
stark violation of the Indus Waters Treaty while helping Afghanistan
to build a dams on Kabul River (all with terrible economic
consequences for Pakistan) and now this covert war. Need one say more?
The writer is a retired air
chief marshal.
Email:
marshalmm@gmail.com This news was published in print paper. Access complete paper of this
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