MQM – RAW Nexus: Way Forward

By Sarah Khan

In the last few months, especially after successes and gains against terrorists in Operation Zarb e Azb there have been many stories revealed on Indian meddling with Pakistan’s internal affairs. Adding insult to Indian injuries, the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) announced after visit of Chinese President to Pakistan has further unnerved India. Indian officials including PM Modi have issued many controversial and inflammatory remarks against Pakistan. In Bangladesh Indian PM confessed of Indian involvement in dismembering Pakistan in 1971.

Activities of Indian RAW are at peak in Sindh and Balochistan which are relatively unstable provinces due to weak provincial provinces. Incidents of Safoora (Karachi) and Mastong are case in point. India governments and India is easily supporting many insurgencies in the two is also unnerved by initiation of security cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The recent attack on Afghan parliament, and then baseless reporting by Indian newspapers that “ISI officer from Peshawar and Haqqani Network carried out the attack” suggests that India is trying its best to spoil the relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Series of terrorist incidents in Afghanistan and Pakistan one after another is a clear indication of RAW’s involvement in such attacks to spoil the peace and security pact signed between the two countries recently.

A few days earlier Punjab Home Minister Shuja Khanzada disclosed to the members of the Punjab Assembly that Indian intelligence agency RAW sent a text message to the manager of Zimbabwe cricket team in Dubai threatening them with “possibility of terrorism in Pakistan and cancellation of tour”. He said the message received by the team manager was finally tracked down and it was found that it had come from New Delhi and that RAW was behind this conspiracy to malign Pakistan. He said India wanted that cricket series should be cancelled so that Pakistan’s image could be tarnished but all-out security was assured to the Zimbabwean cricket team to foil nefarious designs of India.

On 24 June BBC reported that MQM is receiving funding from India and many activities have received training from India is the last ten years. According to the report which quotes an unnamed "authoritative Pakistani source", officials in MQM have told UK authorities that they received Indian government funds. UK authorities investigating MQM for alleged money laundering also found a list of weapons in an MQM property. The report also said that British authorities held formal recorded interviews with senior MQM officials who told them the party was receiving Indian funding. The report says, "Before 2005-2006 the training was given to a small number of mid-ranking members of the MQM, more recently greater numbers of more junior party members have been trained."

In March 2015, Paramilitary Rangers raided MQM Headquarter Nine-Zero and it’s surrounding area. It was reported that arms and ammunition stolen from NATO containers were recovered during the search operation. During the course of the search operation, weapons whose import had been banned in the country were recovered from the Nine-Zero premises. Many terrorists were also arrested from MQM headquarters who were at large for many years.  

After BBC report MQM and India have denied all charges terming it as baseless allegations. Pakistan’s Interior Minister has reportedly written letter to British authorities seeking further information and proofs on the report. But after Ranger’s raid of MQM Headquarters and recovery of arms and ammunition and terrorists, no further evidence is required to ascertain that few factions of MQM  are involved in terrorist activities particularly in Karachi with a subtle foreign support which is nobody else but RAW. 

The successes and gains of Operation Zarb e Azb have unnerved Indian officials and its notorious intelligence agency. Now, India RAW is playing openly in Pakistan by backing various terrorist organization including MQM, BLA and TTP. India has always labeled Pakistan as state sponsoring

terrorism especially after Mumbai attacks in 2008. Although, perpetrators of the attack have already been executed but India has again tried to raise to issue in UN by urging international community to take action against Pakistan over release of Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi. But the nefarious move was blocked by China. Now there are enough evidences of Indian involvement in backing terrorist activities in Pakistan, the international community and government of Pakistan should ask India to cease its support to various terrorist organizations in Pakistan in order to initiate meaningful peace dialogue. Moreover, there is a need to weed out elements which are being supported by Indian RAW in order to successfully eradicate the menace of terrorism backed by Pakistan’s sworn enemy India.

The writer can be reached at ardent.jingo @gmail.com