Indian spies in Qatar

Indians in Qatar are guest workers with no citizenship rights, making them easy to deport if they agitate in any way

India’s overseas intelligence operatives’ failures continue to embarrass the country, with the latest episode being Qatar’s sentencing of ten ex-Indian Navy officials to death for spying. News reports suggest the eight men were employed by a Qatari security firm but were also spying on Qatar’s submarine programme. However, their spying was allegedly on behalf of Israel, rather than India, according to unnamed sources quoted in the news reports — Qatar has not officially commented and an Indian journalist has allegedly been expelled for reporting on the details of the story. India says it is exploring all options to help the men, but despite what New Delhi or the Indian media says, if the Qataris have strong evidence, the best-case scenario is probably commutation to life, as espionage is generally as high a crime as there is.

Yes, Qatar and India have strong political and trade ties, but Qatar generally has the upper hand in all areas. Unlike Canada, which also has a large Indian-origin population, Indians in Qatar are guest workers with no citizenship rights, making them easy to deport and replace if they agitate in any way. Most of Qatar’s imports from India can be sourced from elsewhere, while Qatar’s exports comprise oil and gas and petroleum products, all of which have universal demand. Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar is also home to US Central Command, making it one of the Pentagon’s most important overseas bases, and Doha one of Washington’s most important allies. Unlike the lack of support Western countries showed for Canada due to India’s perceived role as a bulwark against increasing Chinese influence, the US will have to vocally support the Qataris if the situation devolves.

Most telling, however, is that India and its ‘allies’ have not been able to arrange some sort of exchange for the eight veterans. This is a massive embarrassment for a country that claims to be a major diplomatic player, or perhaps a reflection of the fact that India is just a very large pawn in a game that is still controlled by Nato allies and Russia and China.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 28^th, 2023.

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