Proof before allegations
Indian backing of insurgency in Balochistan last found a mention in the joint statement of Yousaf Raza Gillani and Manmohan Singh issued after their meeting at Sharm al-Sheikh in 2009. Instead of pursuing the matter at the right forums, the PPP government subsequently took recourse to innuendos and insinuations. Interior Minister Rehman Malik frequently referred to ‘hidden hands’ or an unspecified ‘enemy country’ being behind the Baloch separatists thus creating a perception that the government didn’t possess enough evidence to prove India’s involvement.
While on a visit to Quetta last month COAS Raheel Sharif warned ‘foreign governments and intelligence agencies’ against their involvement in the insurgency. This showed the army had definite information about outside connection but was either unaware of the identity of the agencies or was unwilling to reveal their names. We are now told that the corps commanders meeting on Tuesday took serious notice of RAW’s involvement in whipping up terrorism in Pakistan.
Indian leadership too complains about the activities of Pakistani agencies but with an important difference. Over the years it has collected evidence against organisations like LeT and their ties with Pakistani agencies and shared it with Pakistan’s allies. The US Administration and think tanks are convinced that LeT was not only behind the terrorist attack on Mumbai but also constitutes a threat to the US. They are also certain that Pakistan continues to provide safe haven to the terrorist group. India has now sought UN Security Council’s intervention over Lakhvi’s release. Pakistan too should have taken to its allies and the UN whatever incriminating evidence it possessed against India providing help to insurgency in Balochistan or target killings in Karachi or assistance to TTP in tribal areas. Issuing statements about the involvement of RAW without providing convincing evidence would be of no help. It would, on the other hand, create a perception that the sole purpose behind the statements is to malign certain Pakistani politicians and violent groups currently in the bad books of the army.
