RAW’s criminal assault in Lahore

Dr. A. Z. Hilali

Since the incident of 9/11 (USA) and Mumbai carnage (29/11), India and the United States both are in a struggle to isolate Pakistan diplomatically for their nefarious designs and continuously pressuring Islamabad to do more with regard to Taliban and al-Qaeda elements in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). It is also a bitter reality that the United States because of its long-term strategic interests with New Delhi is trying to encircle China and promoting India's rhetoric against Pakistan. On the other hand, Pakistan's leadership due to economic and commercial interests seems to be helpless to counter Indo-US moves to destabilise Pakistan. The common-man rightly perceived that India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) is involved in Balkanizing Pakistan and for this they are working to create a tragic panic in society and by their covet and overt actions the country is presenting ungovernable situation and there is a fear that Indo-US collaboration can move forward the idea of collective action against Pakistan. The people of Pakistan were shocked on March 30th when the terrorists attacked the Police Training School at Manawan (Lahore) and killed more than 10 innocent police trainees, civilians and around 110 received injuries in their brutal and vicious attacks.

This synchronised attack was perpetrated by a small group of young people who were out to induce panic by causing maximum casualties. It is interesting to note that the terrorists used proper police uniform, armed bags, Kalashnikovs and hand-grenades and other sophisticated weapons during the well-coordinated assault and targeted the police trainees with the core objective to destabilize the commercial hub of Pakistan. Moreover, it was a successful commando-style target killing and serious challenge to the provincial and federal administration who completely failed to protect the life of law enforcement people and common citizens. In fact, the tragic incident has left a number of unanswered questions, foremost being who was responsible for it and why they were given a free hand to go in for the open and easy killing. The incident also revealed embarrassing security gaps in an increasingly unstable country. According to one expert the Punjab administration entirely collapsed to smell about the carnage and the incident has shown severe security lapse and administrative drift in the province. In diplomacy and war "truth is the first casualty of war," and the second tragic assault after Sri Lankan cricket team incident in Lahore seems to be unfolding but experts started finger-pointing towards India's intelligence agency RAW for all its woes, be it confirm that terrorists attack is also the result of home-grown political upheavals and the RAW successfully used security vacuum as an opportunity to prove that Pakistan is not a safe-haven. The overwhelming evidence is available that the Lahore carnage is being supported by the RAW agency and there are equally several veiled accusations that India's involvement cannot be ruled out because India cannot afford stable and strong Pakistan.

It is also on record that in February 2009 RAW successfully sabotaged Sri Lankan cricket team's programme because New Delhi was unhappy with Sri Lanka's cricket tour to Pakistan. According to Sunday Times reports, India pressurized Sri Lanka to refuse but Sri Lankan government accepted the invitation to oblige Pakistan and counter India's bully role. So, it was clear that the decision of Mahinda Rajapaksa government "has irked the Indian authorities" and they expressed their displeasure over the tour but the tour becomes a diplomatic issue for Colombo because Pakistan is an important strategic factor for Sri Lanka's diplomatic efforts to defeat Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). In the circumstance, it is not difficult to believe that spreading the repercussions of the attacks beyond Pakistan's borders. The mounting evidence exist that since the Mumbai attacks India is busy to hurt Pakistan by covert and overt activities and not letting any chance to destabilize the country and using all efforts to prove that the country is ungovernable. In fact, this inclination in India's establishment has been interpreted by analysts as India's vision of South Asia as a region where only India will be the arbiter of events. So, it is crystal clear that the incident has happened in Pakistan and part of the conspiracy has been hatched in India somewhere and our media is full of speculations that RAW is at the back of the gruesome Lahore massacre and it is obvious that the group that carried out attack is based outside the territory of Pakistan.

In fact, RAW has a long history of subversive activities in South Asian countries, including Pakistan. They are sponsoring sabotage and separatists movements to Balkanize the country and for this they are creating instability, political anarchy, and terrorism and always exploiting racial, cultural, sectarian, religious differences for further deteriorating the conditions in the neighbouring countries. A leading newspaper of Sri Lanka "The Daily Mirror" in its recent issue highly criticised the role of RAW which it is playing in the regional countries to destabilize them. The newspaper editorial has specially referred to Pakistan and mentioned that the RAW has initiated ambitious operations to separate Balochistan from Pakistan by supporting radical Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). The newspaper also writes that "it certainly is a monumental task for the informed Sri Lankans or for that matter anyone in the neighbourhood of India to keep a straight face when talking about the RAW in India. The reports are available that the administration of Punjab and the North Western Frontier Province (NWFP) has arrested many militants who were sponsored by the RAW and funded around 680$ million through Afghan secret agency (KHAD) to create disturbance and anarchy in the country. The secret agency has arrested "red-handed" more than 200 militants who possessed complete suicide kits, jackets and hundreds kg of explosives and detonators. Pakistan's intelligence analysts suspect that RAW with the coordination of New Delhi government helped the attackers.

In reality, many of the charges against RAW originate from investigators in Pakistan which has a long history of hostility with Islamabad. In the same way, uncountable Hindu extremist organisations are working in India and also have millions volunteer to sacrifice for the sake of greatest India and for the glory of Hinduism. According to the sources many Hindu militant organisations operate openly in different parts of India and are actively involved in creating instability in Pakistan. The experts indicated that Hindu militant wings are working near the border towns of Pakistan (Punjab and Sindh) and their volunteers are determined to do any kind of subversive job to damage the status of Pakistan and the recent attacks, which included unidentified people seemed to fit the group's evolving emphasis. According to intelligence sources, many Hindu militant organisations are working under the umbrella of RAW and providing funds, training and special guidance to the volunteer soldiers. In fact, RAW has established as a proxy force to fight against Pakistan army and they have extended their influence from tribal areas to urban areas of Punjab which is comparatively less backward as compared to NWFP and other provinces. The high security officials informed that RAW and its sister institutions are active in different parts of Pakistan and there are less chances that violent militant activities will be reduced in the coming days. Accounts from the captured militant in Lahore provided glimpses of its recruitment and training methods and it has indicated that most of the groups focused on waging war against Pakistan and also committed to wider goals, among them the creation of Hindu state in the region. In this background Indian elites as a nation must realise that its future rests on eradicating the Hindu terrorists training camps in India and Afghanistan (near to the tribal areas of Pakistan) and in halting the extremists indoctrination of young people. India has promised to work with Pakistan against the "scourge" of terrorism.

That is an easy thing to say but it is up to the task of reforming institutions riddled with extremist ideology. Moreover, the internal situation in India is worst than Pakistan where Hindu extremism remain in active position and they have several sympathizers in military and governmental hierarchy. However, the time has arrived that Pakistan's elites must carefully handle the critical situation and should avoid pleasing India for the sake of the United States. Thus, the country's establishment must realize the security failure to trace out the culprits and also care about India's evil designs to destroying the peaceful fabric of the country. Moreover, day-by-day the frequency of suicide bombings has increased, and terrorists are striking deep into urban areas. So, the new democratic government has to develop a new policy based on national consensus to deflate the terrorists. The people of Pakistan hope that new democratic leadership will show their will to tackle the emerging challenges, rather than becoming a puppet of the New Delhi and Washington because people are the ultimate guarantor of the country's survival and not the United States. azahilali@yahoo.co.uk