Pakistan has conveniently walked into the troubled waters in support of Canada condemning Nijjar killing and blaming India for masterminding the assassination. This is because of Pakistan ISI’s unstinted support to the cause of Sikh separatism
THERE are two global events, impacting Indo – Canadian relations and causing severe military and security concerns in the Middle East with the ongoing serious global vis-à-vis attrition between Israel – terror group Hamas and its other terrorist affiliates fighting for prestige, revenge, territorial claims and for multiple other geo political interests. Touching upon the first issue is the plummeting of bilateral relations between India and Canada in the wake of unstatesmanlike, undiplomatic and rash statement made by the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, on the floor of the Canadian Parliament (choosing a most inappropriate forum for such accusations) levelling baseless allegations against India that it was complicit in killing of the Sikh radical Hardeep Singh Nijjar on the Canadian soil (June 18) in Surrey, British Columbia. Either due to deliberate amnesia or by design, after prompting from the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Trudeau didn’t think of naming rival Sikh separatist groups for getting rid of Nijjar. Accusing India in a sweeping statement with such irresponsible remarks tantamount to a serious political folly of Himalayan proportions.
Such uncalled for and manufactured criticisms, bereft of any evidence and facts, have changed the entire geo political scenario and in light of this, it’s highly improbable that Indo Canadian bilateral ties will see any amelioration in the foreseeable future.
Baseless allegation
Amid these developments, not altogether surprising, Pakistan has conveniently walked into the troubled waters in support of Canada condemning Nijjar killing and blaming India for masterminding the assassination. This endorses Trudeau’s wild and baseless allegations. Why is it not surprising to the security analysts the world over or to the watchers of India, Pakistan and Canada? This is because of a simple fact, that is already in the public domain about Pakistan ISI’s unstinted support to the cause of Sikh separatism right from the eighties and its fresh blueprint for its revival by lending the newly revived movement in the western countries lending funding, propaganda linked training and providing all the logistics’ support. This is also an attempt to fuel the already dormant Sikh radicalism which had died more because of majority and mainstream Sikhs rejecting the basic concept of a separate Sikh state.
Now, no sooner than Pakistan was heaving a sigh of relief from the Nijjar killing and also from the divisive and negative fallout that it caused, a recent assassination of a terrorist on the Pakistani soil evoked uproar in the Pakistani polity and media circles. It immediately started blaming a hostile intelligence agency insinuating India to murder individuals in Pakistan. A prominent Pakistani English newspaper with considerable readership, very recently claimed in its editorial that in the last two months alone, there have been at least four targeted killings that have either directly or indirectly been attributed to an Indian agency. More specifically, the reference is outrageously made to a latest incident when Jaish-eMohammad activist Shahid Latif was killed along with others in the Daska mosque, Pakistan.
Pathankot attack
The Pakistani police, on its part, has claimed to have busted a network involved in carrying out a vendetta for a “rogue” nation. Here, it would be pertinent to state that this is the same Shahid Latif who was directly involved in the Pathankot Indian Air Force (IAF) terror attack of 2016.
This said, it must also be said to the credit of the newspaper for questioning the security establishments of Pakistan as to how could they let so many individuals be murdered on the Pakistani soil before a syndicate apparently being run by an enemy power was finally busted? They further asked that preempting such attacks is the cardinal task for counter intelligence officials responsible for Pakistan’s security.
The paper further blamed the security agencies for embarrassing the country by enabling the so-called hostile quarters to infiltrate the country while they are busy addressing domestic issues, they legally and otherwise, have no business to be involved with.
Now, coming back to referring the word “rogue”. The loose use of word rogue in the killing context is very undesirable and unparliamentary as per any media ethics and convention.
Sadly, it exhibits the frustration and rudderless attitude of a failed nation a term often referred by experts as rogue and even assess being on the brink of disintegration. This is thought to be attributed due to its incessant economic fallacies, nonstop terror assaults penetrating its intelligence and security armour and its abject failure to pursue harmonious external policies with neighbours or even with the countries of the Islamic bloc.
To name a few, Afghanistan comes foremost in mind as despite the fact that both Pakistan and Afghanistan share and practice the same religion, they are far from any bonhomie. As regards its continued India bashing, Pakistan is looking for India as a scapegoat and it is purely to divert attention from its prevailing domestic ills as enumerated above.
Other than this, Pakistan now looks poised to capitalize further out of the ongoing Israel – Hamas imbroglio. Its open support to Hamas and its affiliates is nothing but showcasing of Islamic solidarity without condemning the terror angle which has plagued the nation and other parts of the world. Homegrown terror outfits including Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Tehreeke-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), Hizb-ulMujahideen (HM) and numerous others have been wreaking havoc within and outside Pakistan for years with no signs of any abatement.
Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is also on record not easily letting Pakistan off the hook from the grey list. Sectarian violence occurring as a pattern at regular intervals with rising cases of religious intolerance and forced cases of blasphemy.
Pro-Palestine rally
Meanwhile, former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s son-in-law and Pakistan Muslim League (N) leader Captain Muhammad Safdar Awan openly called for Jihad against India and Israel at a pro-Palestine rally in Peshawar. The rally was addressed by Hamas leaders. It would, therefore, appear that with state support, Hamas will inspire the Pakistan political leadership, the military and the ISI, in addition to the countless terror groups posing a threat to the peace and tranquil not only within Pakistan but also in the immediate neighborhood with India as the primary focus.
