ISLAMABAD: Presenting before the world a dossier of evidence against Indian state-sponsored terrorism inside Pakistan, Islamabad on Saturday called on the international community to play its part for peace and stability in South Asia and act against its “rogue” neighbour.
“Today we have irrefutable facts that we will present before the nation and international community through this dossier,” Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who was flanked by chief military spokesperson Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar, told a press conference.
Presenting the dossier detailing Indian involvement in terrorist activities inside Pakistan including recent attacks in Peshawar and Quetta, Qureshi said Indian intelligence agencies were found involved in financing, promoting, and harbouring terrorism inside the country through a number of militant networks “including Balochistan Liberation Army, Jamaatul Ahraar and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan”.
“India is attempting to establish a consortium of Baloch Liberation Front, Baloch Republican Army, TTP and BLA […] to unify the dissident elements,” he said.
He further said New Delhi through its subversive activities aims to reverse Islamabad’s success against terrorism by “nurturing nationalism and sub-nationalism in the country, especially in Gilgit-Baltistan, Balochistan and erstwhile FATA”.
“The evidence provides concrete proof of Indian financial and material sponsorship of multiple terrorist organisations, including UN-designated terrorist organisations,” Qureshi said.
“We expect the international community to play its role for peace and stability in the region by: compelling India to immediately halt its state sponsorship of terrorism in Pakistan; bring to justice all those involved in financing and supporting terrorism inside Pakistan according to relevant domestic and international laws,” he added.
The foreign minister noted that Pakistan had shared its concerns with major international partners before but this was the first time it was publicly presenting “irrefutable evidence to the world” to demonstrate India’s sponsorship of terrorism in Pakistan.
“The international community can no longer turn a blind eye to this rogue behavior by a state that refuses to adhere to international laws and UN conventions,” he said, stressing that India is a “state sponsor of terrorism that is consistently exhibiting rogue behavior.”
He said that if the world continued to ignore the Indian agenda to destabilize and undermine Pakistan, it sent a message of apathy for a peaceful and stable nuclear South Asia.
“Our valiant law enforcement and security agencies have resiliently fought and won the war against terrorism. We know how to defend ourselves,” said Qureshi.
“India’s efforts to foment terrorism inside Pakistan will not be allowed to undermine Pakistan’s stability in any way. Whether they acknowledge or not, all major powers know India is a threat to the entire region. Now, they must act to prevent it from continuing its sponsorship of terrorism against Pakistan,” he added.
The press conference comes a day after six people including a Pakistan Army soldier were martyred in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) along the restive Line of Control (LoC) in cross-border firing. At least 30 other civilians and five soldiers also sustained injuries in what appeared to be the biggest escalation in hostilities on the de facto border in months.
Qureshi condemned the ceasefire violation by Indian troops, saying the purpose of the presser was to show “the real face of India” to the world. “You can see a pattern of constant ceasefire violations,” he said, adding the dossier contains many details and some of them will be used at the “time of need”.
He said while Pakistan was combatting terrorism on its soil, India was using its soil to surround Pakistan “in a web of terrorism”.
“India cannot tolerate Pakistan’s success against terrorism.”
THE DOSSIER:
Addressing the presser, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Gen Iftikhar provided some of the evidence that had been included in the dossier being provided to international powers.
“The recent upsurge in the violence in Pakistan is a direct consequence of India’s intensified engagements with all brands of terrorists, sub-nationalists and dissidents,” he said.
He said in November 2018, India had united the BRA, BLA, and BLF under the umbrella of Baloch Raaji Aajole Sangar (BRAS). Similarly, he said, in August 2020, TTP, JuA and Harakatul Ansar had been united under the TTP’s umbrella.
All these groups had been united as a single consortium today, he said.
One Colonel Rajesh, Gen Babar said, from the Indian military’s intelligence wing was employed in the Indian consulate in Afghanistan and was engaging with TTP and sub-nationalists to foment terrorism in Quetta, Peshawar and Karachi.
“It has also been revealed that Indian intelligence agencies are trying to establish Pakistan’s linkage with ISIS by creating Daesh-e-Pakistan,” he said, adding that 30 Indian ISIS terrorists had been relocated from India to safe havens along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border where they had been placed at the disposal of Daesh commander Sheikh Abdul Rahim.
The ISPR chief said evidence showed Indian embassies and consulates operating along Pakistan’s borders had become hubs of terror sponsorship against Pakistan. He said Indian ambassadors in Afghanistan regularly supervised terrorist activities, specifically citing the ambassador and consular in Jalalabad held detailed discussions with collaborators to provide financial support to TTP and dissident Baloch elements.
“RAW made two transactions to promote terrorism in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa — both were made through Indian banks. $28,000 were transferred through Punjab Bank India, and $55,851 was sent by Indian national Manmeet through New Delhi to Afghanistan International Bank,” he said.
India had paid $820,000 to TTP leadership through its collaborators, he added.
Gen Babar further said India had raised a militia of 700 people to undertake terrorism in Balochistan to sabotage CPEC. “A commission comprising 24 members was created, which includes 10 RAW operatives. A sum of $60 million was dedicated for this force,” he said.
The Indian embassy regularly paid “handsome amounts” to sub-nationalists under the garb of humanitarian assistance work.
He said confessions of Sarfraz Merchant and Tariq Mir had revealed that $3.23 million had been paid to MQM founder Altaf Hussain by RAW through two Indian companies.
“India has also been rendering support to various entities through the provision of weapons, ammunition and improvised explosive devices,” he said, saying a RAW-sponsored network of 6 terrorists had recently been unearthed with linkages to an attack on the Pakistan Stock Exchange in June 2020.
He said RAW agents had been involved in motivating the tribals in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to send fighters in Afghanistan for training. Revealing a map, he said that India was managing 66 base camps in Afghanistan and 21 in India to harbour, train and launch terrorists against Pakistan.
“A former Indian ambassador and an Indian Army general visited a Baloch militant training camp in Haji Gak,” he said, citing a letter in Dari. “The camp housed 150 militants.”
He said India had also paid $30 million to establish a camp in Kandahar to house Baloch militants, adding that weapons and ammunition were supplied via helicopter.
The ISPR chief also said RAW had planned the attack on Pear Continental Hotel in Gwadar, providing $500,000 for it. He also played an audio clip of one Dr. Allah Nazar being provided attack instructions by a RAW handler.
Gen Iftikhar said investigations of the 2017 attack on Peshawar’s Agriculture University had also led to the masterminds of the 2014 Army Public School attack. “RAW had hired three facilitators for planning the attack on Agriculture University, including Malik Feridoon, who was also involved in planning the APS attack,” he said.
He said a RAW sleeper cell had also been discovered in Karachi, adding that 13 members of it had been apprehended. Main accused Mehmood Siddiqui is an absconder and is residing in India, he added. Detailing other attacks, he also played an audio clip of an Indian handler training terrorists in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on how to use IEDs.
In Gilgit-Baltistan, the ISPR chief said, India had long been planning to try to foment unrest. He said RAW was planning to subvert attempts to grant provisional provincial status to the region, adding that plans called for dissidents to be mobilised after November 20.
“It is India that needs to be scrutinized by the FATF in light of the evidence provided by Pakistan as well as recent revelations of India’s terror financing,” he said.
