By
Sajjad Shaukat
A deadly suicide bomber
in Quetta-the provincial capital of Pakistan killed at least 74 people and
wounded more than 100 on August 8, 2016 in an attack at the government-run
Civil Hospital. Earlier, on the same day, unknown armed men killed Balochistan
Bar President Bilal Anwar Kasi at Mannu Jan Road of Quetta. The dead body of
the prominent lawyer was transferred to the Civil Hospital. The bomber struck
at a crowd of mostly lawyers and journalists who were present into the
emergency department of the hospital after killing of the Bar president.
Through its Amaq news
agency, Islamic State group (Also known as Daesh, ISIS, ISIL) claimed
responsibility for the explosion at the Civil Hospital by saying, “The Middle
East-based movement was behind the atrocity…a martyr from the Islamic State
detonated his explosive belt at a gathering of justice ministry, employees and
Pakistani policemen in the city of Quetta.” Earlier, an affiliated faction of
the ISIS and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan
Jamaat-ur-Ahrar (TTP-JA) took responsibility for this attack, and pledged to
continue such assaults.”
However, it is part of
ploy that two terrorist groups accepted responsibility for the terror attacks
in Quetta to divert the attention from the US-led India and Israel, as like
Syrian war, American CIA, Indian RAW and Israeli Mossad are playing double game
with Pakistan to obtain the clandestine aims of their countries, particularly
by sabotaging China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Balochistan’s Chief
Minister Sanaullah Zehri stated that the Indian intelligence agency RAW which
was involved in subversive and terrorist activities in Balochistan was behind
these latest terrorist attacks in Quetta city.
Pakistan’s Chief of Army
Staff General Raheel Sharif who visited the Civil Hospital and met
with the victims of the deadly bombing said, “Having been defeated in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, terrorists shifting focus to Balochistan…incident
is an attempt to undermine improved peace in Balochistan, specially
targeting CPEC.”
Addressing a seminar
titled “Development of Balochistan and Economic Corridor” in Gwadar,
Gen. Raheel Sharif had stated on April 13, 2016, “China-Pakistan
Economic Corridor is the grand manifestation of the deep-rooted ties between China
and Pakistan…indeed a corridor of peace and prosperity for the region and
beyond, however Indian agency RAW is sabotaging the mega project.”
It is notable that when
during the regime of the President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan initiated
the construction of Gwadar deep-seaport in Balochistan province in March 2002
with Chinese assistance, sirens went off in the capitals of some European
countries, especially the US, India and Israel which took it as a threat to
their global and regional plans.
Located on the
southwestern coast of Pakistan, Balochistan’s Gwadar seaport is close to the
Strait of Hormuz from where more than 17 million barrels of oil passes every
day. Its ideal location among South Asia, the oil-rich Middle East, and oil and
gas-resourced Central Asia has further increased its strategic significance.
Besides, Balochistan’s abundant mineral resources irritate the eyes of the US,
India and Israel which intend to destabilize Pakistan for their collective
aims, as the latter is also the only nuclear country in the Islamic World.
However, development in Pakistan’s province of Balochistan has shifted the
gravity of the Great Game of Central Asia to Pakistan.
During the visit of the
Chinese President Xi Jinping to Islamabad, on April 20, 2015, he and Pakistani
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif signed 51 agreements for cooperation in various
fields, related to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The establishment of CPEC
between deep Gwadar seaport of Balochistan and the historic Silk Road city in western
regions-Xinjiang of China will connect Gilgit-Baltistan through Khunjerab Pass.
Beijing would also build an international airport at Gwadar, while the roads
infrastructure in Gwadar would link the communication network of rest of the
country to facilitate transportation of goods.
When Gwadar seaport
becomes fully operational, it would connect the landlocked Central Asian states
with rest of the world. Being the commercial hub, the port is likely to
increase volume of trade, bringing multiple economic and financial benefits to
Pakistan like the Suez Canal which changed the destiny of Egypt when Israel
returned it to the former. It will enable high-volume cargo vessels to move in
the major oceans. Gwadar project will not only uplift the impoverished people
of Balochistan by providing thousands of employment opportunities and is likely
to develop whole the province by redressing their grievances. The resulting
prosperity in the province would trickle down to the Baloch people and damp the
separatist sentiments, which the hostile elements, supported by the US, India
and Israeli do not want.
The ink on
China-Pakistan agreements—CPEC was barely dry when western media, especially
RAW started playing up the Baloch insurgency. In this regard, the director of
The Second Floor (T2F), a social activist Sabeen Mahmud was shot dead by
unidentified gunmen in Karachi on April 24, 2015—followed by a bomb blast in
Sibi, Balochistan, which killed several persons on April 26, 2015. On May 13,
2016, at least 45 people (Shias) were killed and several injured after the
unknown gunmen brutally opened fire on a bus of the Ismaili community in
Karachi.
Without any doubt,
Karachi bus incident was a handy work of the US-backed RAW to sabotage the
Pak-China CPEC project by showing that if Pakistan government is not able to
provide security to its citizens, how it can protect CPEC. Ismailis (Shia
community) belong to Hunza (Gilgit/Baltistan) have a spiritual linkage with
this area, are Pakistanis. The CPEC would also originate from the same region.
Pakistan’s Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif had said about the bus attack, “The enemies of Pakistan
do not like the economic progress of the country. To put a stop to Pakistan’s
economic progress is their agenda, some local elements and foreign forces are
creating hurdles in China-Pakistan Economic Corridor programme which is vital
for progress and development of Pakistan.”
In response to the
$46-billion Pak-China project of CPEC, Washington broadly supported New Delhi
and Kabul in signing a deal with Iran for a transport corridor, opening up
a new route to Afghanistan via the Iranian port of Chabahar. In this context,
during his visit to Tehran, on May 23, 2016, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra
Modi signed 12 agreements with Tehran, including a deal to develop Iran’s
Chabahar port. India will spend $500 million on the project, with a plan to
invest an additional $ 16 billion in the Chabahar free trade zone.
Chabahar—located about 1,800 kilometres south of Tehran—is more than just a
port with an adjoining free trade zone. But, CPEC is much bigger and viable
project than Chahbahar, if Pakistan develops the project with speed, efficiency
and transparency, it needs not be worried about Chabahar.
In this respect, on June
13, 2016, a Chinese newspaper, Global Times has blamed India for damaging the
prospects of Gwadar by investing in Chahbahar to isolate Pakistan; however, it
will not succeed in its designs. The paper elaborated, “Pakistan’s Sindh
Province saw a bomb attack against Chinese engineers and small-scale protests
against the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) recently. Meanwhile, the
Pakistani government claimed that anti-CPEC activities by foreign forces have
been busted in Baluch Province. At the Beijing Forum held in Islamabad in late
May, countries including the US and Japan have shown concerns over CPEC
construction and even bluntly criticized the China-Pakistan friendship. CPEC is
a significant part of the Belt and Road initiative, which is not only a
domestic strategy of China to open up its central and western regions, but also
Pakistan’s domestic development plan as well as regional integration.”
The recent
India-Iran-Afghanistan agreement to develop a trade route from Chabahar to
Central Asia has been portrayed by Indian commentators as having changed the
historical Great Game for control of the connection between South and Central
Asia through Afghanistan. But, the project will remain a dream after the
collapse of the inter-Afghan negotiations. Notably, Islamabad considers that
peace in Afghanistan is a guarantee of peace in Pakistan, therefore, has been
striving for the same in utter sincerity. But, the US and India do not want to
see peace and prosperity in the region. Sadly, Pakistan’s dominant role in
Afghanistan’s peace process under the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG)
has, deliberately, been sabotaged by killing of the Taliban leader Mullah
Akhtar Mansur in CIA-operated drone attack in Balochistan, which badly derailed
Afghan dialogue process, as Afghan Taliban leaders refused to participate in
the US-sponsored talks with the Afghan government. While, in the recent past,
with the help of Pakistan, a series of meetings were held in Islamabad and
Kabul among the representatives of Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and the US to
develop an understanding for the earliest possible resumption of stalled talks
between the Afghan government and the Taliban with view to ending nearly 15
years of bloodshed in Afghanistan.
It seems that a double
game is on to pressurize Pakistan to bring Afghan Taliban either for the
dialogue or to take action against them. US, India and Israel have built a
hostile nexus for the Great Game and are pressurizing Pakistan by limiting its
choices. Afghanistan is witnessing a further escalation of conflict and chaos.
It is also due to unrest
in Afghanistan that the US-backed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India
(TAPI) gas pipeline did not start. In 2009, Islamabad and Tehran had signed the
Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project without New Delhi, as the latter
was reluctant in this connection owing to its pro-US tilt. Since then, it has
been named as the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project. America had
previously threatened Pakistan with sanctions, if it went ahead with the
project.
America and Israel are
seeing the Chabahar project with suspicion. To bolster its strategic contest
with China and Russia, the US is moving towards a military alliance with India.
America which is backing Indian hegemony in Asia, especially to counterbalance
China is supplying New Delhi latest weapons, arms and aircraft. During
President Barack Obama’s second visit to India, the US and India announced a
breakthrough on a pact which would allow American companies to supply New Delhi
with civilian nuclear technology, as agreed upon in 2008. During Indian Prime
Minister Modi’s recent visit to America, President Obama strongly assured him
to favour India’s membership in the meeting of the Nuclear Supplier Group
(NSG). Earlier, Washington also pressurized the International
Atomic Agency (IAEA) to sign an accord of specific safeguards with New Delhi.
America had already contacted the NSG to grant a waiver to India for starting
civil nuclear trade on larger scale.
But, the US-Iran ties
could again become hostile, if new sanctions are imposed by the US Congress or
differences arise over Iraq, Syria, Hezbollah or Israel. Although Iran’s
nuclear issue has been settled, yet Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu called it
American historical blunder, and is still acting upon a war-like diplomacy against
Tehran. If the pro-Israeli Donald Trump becomes American president, he would
thwart the US-Iran relationship to secure Israeli dominate in the Middle East.
Now, Islamabad which has
ignored the duress of Washington is convincing Tehran to start the
implementation of the IPI project. In the recent past, high officials of Iran
and Pakistan have met in this respect.
Taking note of US
anti-Pakistan schemes, besides China, Pakistan has also cultivated its
relationship with the Russian Federation. In 2010, Russian President Putin
publicly endorsed Pakistan’s bid to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
(SCO) which includes Russia, China and four Central Asian Republics as
permanent members. Putin remarked that Pakistan was very important partner for
Moscow in South Asia and the Muslim world. In various summits, the SCO leaders
displayed strength against the US rising dominance in the region and military
presence of NATO in Afghanistan, near Central Asia, and are moving towards
security cooperation. After participating in the Summit of the SCO in 2015,
Pakistan and Iran got permanent membership of the SCO which is seen as
anti-American club.
In fact, based in
Afghanistan, operatives of CIA, Mossad and RAW which are well-penetrated in the
ISIL, TTP and their affiliated Taliban groups are using their terrorists to
destabilize Tibetan regions of China, Iranian Sistan-Baluchistan and Pakistan’s
Balochistan by arranging the subversive activities. In this connection, the
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is their special target. As part of the double
game these foreign agencies are also in connivance with the Afghan intelligence
agency-Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS) and have arranged various
acts of terrorism inflicting harm to Pakistan, especially Baluchistan. With
latest capture of six NDS supported terrorists in Balochistan, the number of
NDS backed terrorists arrested and killed by Pakistani Intelligence agencies
has crossed over 126. These external secret agencies are particularly supporting
the TTP which is hiding in Nuristan and Kunar provinces of Afghanistan.
Reportedly Mullah Fazlullah led TTP is being prepared to carry out a fresh wave
of terror activities inside Pakistan, as the latter has become center of the
Great Game owing to the ideal location of Balochistan.
Notably, besides other
similar attacks in Afghanistan, ISIS claimed responsibility for a joint suicide
bombing of July 23, 2016 in Kabul, which targeted the peaceful rally of the
Shiite minority of Hazaras who were protesting against the government’s
decision of denying their region essential infrastructure through their plans
of rerouting a power line. The twin suicide blasts killed more than 80 persons.
In these terms, India and Israel which also want that NATO forces should remain
entangled in Afghanistan are also using ISIS and TTP militants as part of
Indo-Israeli collective interests.
Besides, the porous
border between Pakistan and Afghanistan is frequently used by human and drug
traffickers, criminals and terrorists. Their easy access through unguarded
porous border provides opportunity to the US-led miscreants to cause havoc
inside Pakistan and Afghanistan. Islamabad has insisted upon effective counter
terrorism measures at Pak-Afghan border. But, American puppet rulers of
Afghanistan are using delaying tactics in this respect.
As regards Balochistan,
every Pakistani knows that separatist groups like the Balochistan Liberation
Army (BLA), TTP and their affiliated outfits, including Jundollah (God’s
soldiers), Lashkar-i-Janghvi which have been creating unrest in the Balochistan
province, gets logistic support from RAW and Mossad with the tactical
assistance of CIA. In the recent years, these terrorist outfits massacred many
persons through suicide attacks, bomb blasts, targeted killings and sectarian
violence. In the recent past, these externally-supported insurgent groups
kidnapped and killed many Chinese and Iranian nationals in Pakistan including
Iranian diplomats. They have claimed responsibility for a number of terror
assaults, including those on Shias in Balochsitan and Iranian
Sistan-Baluchistan. In this regard, Tehran has directly accused CIA of funding
these types of terror attacks.
While hinting towards
US, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has rightly disclosed, “The bloody
actions being committed in Iraq, Pakistan and Iran are aimed at creating a
division between the Shias and Sunnis…those who carry out these terrorist
actions are directly or indirectly foreign agents.”
Since the government of
the Balochistan province announced general pardon and protection to the Baloch
militants as part of reconciliation process, many insurgents and their leaders
have surrendered their arms and decided to work for the development of Pakistan
and the province, peace has been restored in the Balochistan.
It is of particular
attention that the armed forces of Pakistan have broken the backbone of the
foreign-backed terrorists by the successful military operation Zarb-e-Azb,
which has also been extended to other parts of the country, including
Balochistan. And Pakistan’s primary intelligence agency, ISI has broken the
network of these terrorist groups by capturing several militants, while
thwarting a number of terror attempts.
It is worth-mentioning
that trust deficit has deepened between Pakistan and the America. Therefore, on
June 10, 2016, a high-level delegation of the US visited Islamabad and met
Pakistan’s Chief of the Army Staff Gen. Raheel Sharif and Adviser to the Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz Adviser separately.
During the meeting,
expressing his serious concern on the US drone strike
in Balochistan as a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty,
Gen. Raheel Sharif highlighted as to how it had impacted the mutual
trust and was counterproductive in consolidating the gains of
Operation Zarb-e-Azb against terrorists. He elaborated, “All stakeholders
need to understand Pakistan’s challenges-inter-tribal linkages and decades-old
presence of over three million Afghan refugees—blaming Pakistan for instability
in Afghanistan is unfortunate—target TTP and its chief
Mullah Fazlullah in their bases in Afghanistan—Indian RAW
and NDS are fomenting terrorism in Pakistan.”
US ambivalent policy
about Islamabad could also be judged from some other development. In this
context, another delegation of US Senators including Senator Lindsey Graham led
by Senator John McCain, Chairman of US Senate Arms Services committee visited
Islamabad and North Waziristan Agency (NWA) on July 3, 2016. The US Senators
visited areas cleared of terrorists during Operation Zarb-e-Azb. American
delegation appreciated the Pakistan Army’s accomplishment of cleansing the
entire area of NWA right upto the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, after witnessing
the terrorists’ hideouts and communication infrastructure dismantled by the
Pakistan Army.
Outwardly, American top
officials have been appreciating the capabilities of Pakistan’s security
agencies against terrorism, but inwardly, they are not pleased in relation to
the successes, achieved by the armed forces of Pakistan against the militants,
because the US is acting upon a dual strategy in relation to Islamabad.
Frustrated by their
failures, these externally-backed terrorist outfits such as ISIS have again
started coward acts of terrorism like the ghastly attacks in Quetta. Now, the
main aim of these militant groups is to create chaos in Balochistan and to
discourage Beijing for the development of Gwadar port, and to sabotage the
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Sajjad Shaukat writes on
international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants,
Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations
Email:
sajjad_logic_pak@hotmail.com
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