Indian Great Game by Zaresh Khan

President George W. Bush on 2nd March 2006 said that:
“The United States is encouraging India to work directly with other nations that will benefit from India’s experience of building a multiethnic democracy that respects the rights of religious minorities. Afghanistan is one of those nations”

Afghanistan has a long history of outside powers using its rugged terrain as a chessboard for the “Great Game”. The Great Game has been revisited in Afghanistan and this time one of the chasing players is no other but the Champions of Democracy, India. There is no dearth of hint that India is a time-tested friend of Afghanistan. She welcomed the communist revolution in Kabul in 1978 and sided with Former Soviet Union and thus this good times friend of Afghanistan is equally responsible for the destruction of this very country. Indian influence, which started trailing in 1979, was entirely lost in Kabul in 1992 and during Taliban rule. The fall of Taliban regime and the return of Northern Alliance as a dominant partner in present government provided New Delhi an opportunity to regain the lost influence in the country. Since then, India is trying to dominate Afghanistan. In her bid to get a firm and lasting foothold in Post-Taliban era, India is leaving no stone unturned to perpetuate her presence there. Today India has more than 26 consulates in Afghanistan.

Indian strategy in Afghanistan

India is undertaking various welfare projects in Afghanistan. Here the point to ponder is why India is so desperate to have cordial relations with Afghanistan. It goes without saying that India has no legitimate role in Afghanistan but the dream to confront Pakistan. They are achieving this aim by provoking anti Pakistan sentiments among Afghan people. Apparently Indian intentions could be economic gains but the real objective remains to destabilize Pakistan. The Indian strategy in Afghanistan encircles Indian diplomatic missions in Afghanistan have a role in fomenting trouble in Pakistan’s tribal areas. Indian consulates in Jalalabad, Kandahar, Heart and Mazar-e-Sharif and their embassy in Kabul are indulged in clandestine activities inside Pakistan in general and FATA and Balochistan in particular. The intelligence network in Afghanistan, which has been established by India, is fully operational. RAW operatives have established many training camps inside Afghanistan to aggravate the activities of Baloch nationals to such an extent that it takes the form of an insurgency. These training camps set up by RAW include the Afghan Military Base of Qushila Jadid, in southern Helmand province, and Panjshir valley, Khahak and Hassan Killies in western Nimroz province. New Delhi is encircling Islamabad with highly trained commandoes. She has deployed 143 highly trained commandoes in Afghanistan besides stationing of full-fledged team to train Afghan and Uzbek forces. This is in addition to the already deployed 254 Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) soldiers to provide security to Indian construction companies. India claims that these troops are there to protect Indian workers but in reality they are there to create unrest in Balochistan and FATA.

Effects on Balochistan

It is generally perceived that the deteriorated law and order situation in Balochistan, besides the other factors, is mainly due to the active involvement of the regional players in Afghanistan. As already known, the regional players and the allied intelligence agencies comprise of India (RAW), Afghan (RAAM) and so much so, reportedly US (CIA) and British (MI 6). The substantial evidences of the active involvement of these regional players in the affairs of Balochistan are, (one) Sequel to the Armed Forces’ operation in Dera Bugti and the adjoining Ferrari camp areas, in August 2006 most of the BLA outfits including Brahamdagh, Balaach and number of their commanders managed to escape to Afghanistan. There, in the various established places in Kabul, Kandahar, Lashkar Gah, Nimroz and Spin Boldak, near Chaman border, they were given extra ordinary treatment by the Afghan Government and their visits were reported in routine to the respective Indian consulates (RAW undercover officials) in Kabul and Kandahar, (Two) Further, in year 2006, the Afghan Intelligence Agency RAAM reportedly established an intelligence cell En Kishaf to work for Baloch nationalists. Nida Muhammad son of Haji Fida Muhammad headed the cell. The main task of the cell was to task and to train Baloch Nationalists fighting against Pakistan / security forces. (Three) After the incident of sudden death of Balaach, in 2008, the regional players tried to invest in Brahamdagh. Reportedly, on one hand the Brahamdagh was heavily pumped with the Indian money and on the other hand the Bugti miscreants were being financed in US dollars. (Four) In the last 2 years, Brahamdagh provided substantial money, funded by Indian RAW, to his designated commanders (operative in Kandahar and Nimroz) for purchase of weapons mainly from the Pashtuns belonging to various tribes like Barakzai, Adozai (Achakzai) and so forth. (Five) Significantly, these weapons / ammunition / explosives were managed for cross border transportation by the notorious Afghan Border Police and their commander Abdul Razzik, who is also Adozai (sub caste of Achakzai). This individual is said to be extremely anti Pakistan and also having lots of lust for money. He is also said to have established close contacts with number of RAW agents in Kandahar. (Six) Further, it was learnt that number of training camps were established and run in the adjacent areas of Spin Boldak for the Bugti miscreants mastering them in the art of exploding IEDs, target killing and other acts of sabotage. Notably, such trainings were imparted under the arrangements of Commander Razzik and some times also visited by the Indian / RAW officials. (Seven) Besides, Afghan / Indian concentration in Kandahar / Spin Boldak, at various posts on Afghan border, number of local people were recruited as RAAM agents. In a nutshell, the level of violence has exponentially increased in Pakistan as India has increased her footprint in Afghanistan. Indian presence in Afghanistan is one of the major external factors responsible for the havoc in Pakistan today. “Ambition is the grand enemy of peace”. This deteriorating situation is not only alarming for Pakistan but also its time for Afghanistan to stop acting as a henchman for New Delhi because Indian is in Kabul to serve its vested interests. And this expansionism desire of India will never let Afghanistan come out of the catastrophe and at the same time will never allow peace to survive in Pakistan.