State secrets: Police apprehend alleged RAW spy

Suspect was recruited by RAW in 2008, taken to Delhi for training and entered Pakistan through Islamkot in Tharparkar

HYDERABAD:

Hyderabad police claims to have arrested an Indian agent spying on the Pakistani army’s bases and troop movement and conveying that information to the Indian army.

Hyderabad DSP Yaqoob Jat said that the alleged spy had been living in Pakistan under the alias of Inayatullah Mir, who hailed from Azad Kashmir. However, his real name turns out to be Owais Saleem, who belongs to the Indian-occupied Kashmir.

“He was recruited by Major Deepak of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in 2008. He was taken to Delhi for training and entered Pakistan through Islamkot in Tharparkar,” said Jat, while citing the suspect’s statement at a press conference on Monday. The suspect later moved to Mirpurkhas, then Hyderabad and finally Karachi, but soon returned to Hyderabad.

However, doubts were cast on the DSP’s claim that Saleem was arrested from a hotel, after the media obtained a copy of the suspect’s statement contained in the joint investigation report. “It was heavy on my conscience that, being a Muslim, I was working for the Hindus of India against Pakistan. I surrendered to the CID and asked them to take me to the ISI so that I can start working for Pakistan,” said Saleem.

It also said that he was being kept in confinement for five to six months by the police and security agencies before he was caught.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 28^th, 2012.