Meddling India

Kulbhushan Yadav, a possibly-retired commander in the Indian Navy, seems to have been up to no good in Balochistan

On the one hand, there are trenchant and seemingly well-intentioned efforts to bring peace at last between India and Pakistan — and on the other, the case of Kulbhushan Yadav, a possibly-retired commander in the Indian Navy who seems to have been up to no good in Balochistan. He was arrested last week and details are trickling in as it seems that he is cooperating with his interrogators. If what he is alleged to have been saying is correct in every respect, then Pakistan has every right to feel distinctly aggrieved. For many years, there have been allegations that India was seeking to foment unrest in the province of Balochistan but with little by way of concrete evidence, at least in the public domain, that this was so. Now there would appear to be something beyond the circumstantial, and it is very concerning indeed, the more so as it may point to complicity by our neighbour and emerging strategic partner — Iran.

Commander Yadav was based in the Iranian port city of Chabahar and was arrested in the border town of Chaman where he entered using the false identity of Hussain Mubarak Patel. Entry under false pretences is bad enough to warrant concern, but that concern is compounded by Yadav’s reported allegation that India has trained Baloch separatists in Mumbai to use speedboats in terrorist attacks, and supplied an unknown number to them for that purpose. They were to attack the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor infrastructure as well as Gwadar port and the ships and installations of the Pakistan Navy. These are grave acts of aggression sponsored and encouraged by a foreign power. Thus far, there seems to be no record of attacks so equipped, but equally there is no record of our own security forces having found, destroyed or seized the speedboats mentioned by Commander Yadav — which means they may still be awaiting operational commands. All of this sits poorly with the efforts of our respective heads of state to foster better relations. It lends credence to those that say India lacks sincerity in its peace efforts, and we would urge India to immediately desist from these corrosive activities.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 29^th, 2016.

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