With the degrees of Bachelor of Business Administration and Masters and Doctor of Philosophy Pakistan’s new National Security Advisor Moeed Yusuf perhaps is more suited to business and philosophical thoughts. His doctorate in philosophy perhaps leads him to illusions and hallucinations. Why else would he tell reporters in Islamabad on July 4 that the car bomb blast near the home of Hafiz Saeed, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief on June 23 that killed three and injured 24 was by an Indian citizen associated with the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW)?
Hafiz Saeed is a designated terrorist by the United Nations. In April 2012, the US had announced a bounty of $10 million on Saeed for his role in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks that killed 166 civilians. Saeed co-founded the Lashkar-e-Taiba which was banned by the US, UK, EU, Russia and Australia. India has banned LeT and JuD and Saeed is on the most wanted list of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) but why would R&AW do such a dumb job – a blast outside Saeed’s former home in Lahore while he is enjoying red carpet treatment in Kot Lakhpat Jail?
On the other hand if imprisonment of Saeed in Kot Lakhpat Jail is a drama and he is staying in his residence, then Moeed Yusuf could have fabricated a narrative that Saeed was granted one day bail to fetch his magic wand and was peeping out of the window to see where R&AW was planting the car bomb. A photograph of Saeed with a punctured eye or a bandaged shoulder with R&AW carved on his forehead by splinters would have been very convincing. Or was Moeed confused between ‘Indian citizen’ and ‘Indian-origin Pakistani terrorists’ like Masood Azhar, Syed Salahuddin or even Pervez Musharraf whose love affair with Saeed hit the rocks?
Prime Minister Imran Khan would do well to put Moeed Yusuf through a capsule under the ISI for learning how to fabricate stories of terror attacks by India. Maybe placing Moeed as understudy to Hafiz Saeed for a fortnight would polish him up even better. Imran had tweeted earlier alleging that the planning and financing of the car bomb attack has “links to Indian sponsorship of terrorism against Pakistan”. He asked the global community to mobilize international institutions against this rogue behaviour. Moeed Yusuf says Pakistan will continue its efforts to expose India’s sponsorship of such attacks internationally.
The interesting part is the statement of InamGhani, chief of Punjab Police who said all those involved in the bombing have been arrested, including an Afghan who lived in Pakistan and actually parked the explosives-laden car at the site of blast. This is so cool – “Afghan living in Pakistan” is the agent of R&AW? Imran with his regular intake of narcotics can be excused for misstatements and political and diplomatic faux pas that he periodic displays. But Moeed Yusuf deserves attention by the Pulitzer Fiction Jury. With Inam Ghani’s stating an Afghan placed the explosive-laden car, wonder why is Moeed Yusuf ignoring possible involvement of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)? Is he scared that the TTP may target him?
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has rejected the Pakistani allegations with its spokesman telling the media, “It is not new for Pakistan to engage in baseless propaganda against India. Pakistan would do well to expend the same effort in setting its own house in order and taking credible and verifiable action against terrorism emanating from its soil and terrorists who have found safe sanctuaries there. The international community is well aware of Pakistan’s credentials when it comes to terrorism. This is acknowledged by none other than its own leadership, which continues to glorify terrorists like Osama bin Laden as ‘martyrs’.”
Pakistan’s frustration stems from the fact despite mammoth efforts of subterfuge it has consistently failed in duping the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) into taking it off its ‘Grey List’ that makes it liable to face economic sanctions from institutions like the IMF and the World Bank and experience adverse effects on trade. The second dilemma for Pakistan is re-opening dialogue with India, which it has been seeking while India has been saying that dialogue and terrorism cannot go together. On the other hand, the Pakistani army too may want dialogue with India but never peace least it loses its pole position in ruling Pakistan directly or indirectly, especially with the US troops exiting Afghanistan.
There have been reports of backchannel India-Pakistan talks at NSA level facilitated by the UAEinternational egging? But above is the reason why Pakistan is making false allegations against India for sponsoring terrorism. It is for the same reason that The Resistance Front (TRF) in J&K is fully backed by Pakistan; providing a smokescreen for the LeT and other outfits like JeM and HizbulMujahideen (HM). The weaponized drone attack on the IAF base at Jammu on June 27 had signatures of Pakistan’s ISI since LeT and other Pakistani proxies lack the expertise to launch, control and accurately guide the drone to its target, plus the TNT used and the outer case was military class.
Elated with the Taliban’s winning spree in Afghanistan, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi recently told Tolo News of Afghanistan in an interview that India’s presence in Afghanistan is larger than it ought to be. Qureshi who was also in the cabinet of ParvezMusharraf appears to have self-appointed himself as the lackey-advisor to Taliban for deciding which country should have how much presence in Afghanistan after US troops exit. Also on July 10, Major General Babar Iftikhar, DG ISPR told a media channel, “Pakistan is only a facilitator of the Afghan peace process – not a guarantor. Pakistan has no favourites among the Afghan stakeholders(sic). The Afghans have to choose their leadership.”
Babar also mocked the Afghan National Society Forces which have been trained by the Americans at great expense but so far failed to put up any resistance against the Taliban. This appears also to be a dig at the US and ISAF trainers in Afghanistan of the type of training provided. Babar said more than 90 percent of the 2,611 km Pakistan-Afghan border has been fenced and Pakistan is well aware of the spillover effect it may face in case of a civil war in Afghanistan and measures had been taken to deal with it.
It is well established that past several years, Pakistani regulars and Mujahids have been covertly fighting inside Afghanistan shoulder-to-shoulder with the Taliban, as have Pakistan-based terrorist organization like the LeT, JeM, Haqqanisand ISKP scripted in reports by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). So Babar’s statement that Pakistan has no favourites among the Afghan stakeholders is nothing but a pack of lies. As for the influx of refugees, Pakistan would endeavour to direct some Afghan Taliban cadres to J&K.
Recall when US invaded Afghanistan in 2001 and permitted Pakistani regulars to be air-evacuated from Kunduz and Khost on request from Parvez Musharraf, Pakistan brought along sizeable number of Taliban and trained them for operations in Afghanistan. Infiltration of foreign terrorist by Pakistan into J&K has also included Afghans. Babar’s comment “in case of a civil war in Afghanistan” too is laughable. Does he think that the Taliban and anti-Taliban militias are playing cricket? But ‘Pashtunistan’ may yet become the Achilles Heel of Pakistan.
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