Indian Defence Review

Officials of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) operate without uniform, weapons and in anonymity. So did Ankit Sharma. IB operatives have no enforcement role in law & order. They have no powers to arrest. They work within the confines of law to collect information and intelligence, based on which the governments act with the executive security machinery at its disposal.

An IB operative cannot a symbol of provocation even during the most surcharged times because he is the part of the crowd. He has no enmity because he does not wield state power. The imperative of his work content is such that there is no scope of financial aggrandizement. Hence, who would kill an anonymous IB operative like Ankit Sharma? Who would murder an IB official engaged in the process of gathering intelligence? Certainly not a criminal because a criminal is only antagonistic and inimical to law and order enforcement apparatus. An IB Official can only be killed by the enemy within, controlled by the enemy beyond the borders.

The fact that Ankit Sharma was stabbed more than 400 times, indicates the jihadi mindset of the killer or the killers. It also suggests the involvement of Pakistan, going by the beastly proclivities of the military-intelligence establishment of Pakistan. Similar gruesome treatment was given to Capt Saurabh Kalia and Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja during Kargil conflict in 1999. Jihadis revel while drawing blood and are known for overkills. This jihadi pattern has remained the same in last 1400 years.

Intelligence operatives are the eyes and ears of the State. Beyond the borders, they run the risk of losing life within the enemy country. Within India, if they get killed then they are victims of enemies or proxies within the country. Our Hon’ble NSA has operated with great distinction and reputation outside and within the country. His contribution in handling terrorism in Punjab and Pakistan is legendary. Such an Intelligence veteran would surely not have come across such brutality to an IB Official within the country and that to in the National Capital.

The gruesome killing of an IB Official reinforces the hardly unrevealed secret that the anti-CAA demonstrations are being orchestrated by Pakistan’s ISI. In Intelligence, revelation of source and exposure of operatives are cardinal sins. But somebody must have exposed Sharma’s IB affiliation and kept a track of his responsibilities and movements. Some organization or entity or country must have been grievously impacted by Sharma’s work. He must be lethal or a scourge for somebody or some entity, definitely not for the ‘peaceful protestors’. He may have been lethal for the ISI controlled anti-CAA network. The very fact that a politician has been caught red handed as part of the network, compounds the idea of involvement of a huge political class or even political parties.

In various parts of India, including the National Capital, Jihadi-Maoist-Khalistani backed political terrorism is a reality and many politicians are ISI operatives.

Shaheen Bagh is teeming with ISI operatives. These operatives have flaunted their Pakistan links unabashedly. Reputedly, anti-India slogans have been raised in Shaheen Bagh… ‘Jinnah Wali Azadi’… ‘Bharat kki Barbadi’… ‘Chicken Neck ko halal’… ‘Pakistan se rishta – La Illah-e-Illalah’. These protestors need to be complimented for the bravado and honesty! Nevertheless, there are enemies within us, who heard these slogans but pretended of wearing ear-plugs. These protestors have never been apologetic about their anti-India identity, but within us there is an entire architecture of apologists, which is functional, and thriving. This architecture has been assiduously erected with the building blocks of judiciary, activists, politicians, media personnel, academicians and NGOs. This architecture is used to serve the Maoists, jihadis and Khalistanis. It has now been extended from individual politicians to political parties. This architecture served as a huge industry in pre-Article 370 J&K. Interlocutors were very much part of that industry. The entire industry in the present juncture has shifted to Shaheen Bagh. The nerve centre of this industry continues to be Pakistan High Commission. Pakistan has set up an operational headquarters manned by the PFI to calibrate the anti-India activities in the garb of anti-CAA protest.

If a politician is on a platform, which is being used for anti-India slogans, calling for destruction of India and catering to pro-Pak sentiments, it is very clear that he and his party are being substantially controlled by the military-intelligence establishment of Pakistan.

What we have so far witnessed in Delhi is not merely law and order problem, but an internal war, because it is not restricted to killing of policemen. This a war of ‘Third Front’. An unassuming, nondescript intelligence operative can be a hapless victim of a communal riot, but it is only in a ‘internal war’ situation that he is specifically targeted and stabbed more than 400 times. Only an enemy country can effect such killings by its proxies.

Chanakya has mentioned four types of wars:- •  Purely by external enemy •  Purely by internal enemy •  By External enemy but aided by internal enemy  •  By Internal enemy aided by external enemy.

We are facing a war of fourth category. Ankit Sharma was stabbed more than 400 times in order to create terror amongst other ‘Intelligence Operatives’ deployed in the country. This is a war and in this type of war the state cannot make distinction between enemies and traitors.

The manner in which traitors operate has not changed since 1991 wherein the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus took place. In his book, ‘Kashmir: Its Aborigines and their Exodus’ Col Tej K Tikoo writes: “Pakistan, its accomplices in the Valley and the radical Islamic parties had correctly assessed the reaction of the Indian State, its administrative machinery, the civil society, political parties and the media… As far as the press was concerned, the Islamists were confident that their own well-crafted and finely orchestrated disinformation campaign, would neutralize any negative fallout in the media. Their disinformation campaign had succeeded in obfuscating the reality by projecting the orchestrated tradition of Kashmiri Muslim’s tolerance and faith in secularism. The civil society, dominated as it was by the left-liberal intellectuals, would not pose any serious challenge. In the opinion of the perpetrators of violence, the political parties in India, egged on by the media, were likely to get involved in the ‘communal’ / ‘secular’ debate; in the process masking the news about the violence…”

Col Tikoo has shown the mirror of very recent history to the decision makers in India. If we refuse to learn, we are condemned in this war on the ‘Third Front’.