FM Qureshi, DG ISPR present proof of India’s state sponsored terrorism in Pakistan

India has been working on several fronts to damage peace and economic stability in Pakistan

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and DG ISPR Major General Babar Iftikhar held a joint press conference to share hard evidence to expose India’s state sponsored terrorism in Pakistan and show “the real face of India” to the world.

They provided in-depth evidence about India’s involvement in terrorist activities in Pakistan. From the different evidence provided, it is obvious that India wants mischief in Pakistan and does not want its neighbor to prosper and has been involved in several terrorist attacks.

“Today we have irrefutable facts that we will present before the nation and the international community through this dossier,” Qureshi said. “We have information and evidence on which we can say that India is promoting state terrorism,” said Qureshi.

Qureshi pointed out that India has three main ill intentions for Pakistan.

1. Disruption of the peaceful environment in Pakistan through sub-nationalism and tribalism.
2. To damage the economic growth of the country through unrest.
3. To create political instability in Pakistan

Indian state sponsored terrorism

“The state that used to say that it was the world’s biggest democracy is [now] becoming a rogue state through its activities. We have information and evidence on the basis of which I can say India is fanning state terrorism. India has prepared a plan to destabilise Pakistan,” Qureshi began.

The foreign minister said Pakistanis had faced 19,130 terrorist attacks between 2001 and 2020 and suffered more than 83,000 casualties in the war against terrorism. The country also suffered monetary losses of at least $126 billion.

India establishing consortium of terror groups against Pakistan

“Today, Indian intelligence agencies are patronising banned outfits that are against Pakistan. Organisations like Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Jamaatul Ahrar (JuA). These organisations were defeated by Pakistan, they were flushed out of the country, [now India] is trying to breathe life into them again. They are being supplied ammunition and IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and are being provoked to target ulema, notables, and police officials.”

Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar said that India as part of its “grand design” was constantly trying to establish a consortium between TTP, which united breakaway factions, Hizbul Ahrar (HuA) and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), with BLA, BLF (Balochistan Liberation Front) and BRA (Baloch Republican Army) which united the banner of BRAS (Baloch Raaji Aajoie Sangar).

DG ISPR said that “the recent upsurge in violence in Pakistan is a direct consequence of Indian’s intensified engagements with all brands of terrorists, sub-nationalists and dissidents operating against Pakistan.”

Indian missions in Afghanistan have become “hub of terrorism”

Gen Iftikhar said Pakistan had received “incontrovertible evidence” that Indian embassies and consulates along the Pak-Afghan border were functioning as “hub of terror sponsorship against Pakistan”. He went on to list Indian officials and embassies involved in sponsorship of terrorism, saying that “[they] have been regularly supervising various terrorist activities.”

Indian intelligence official Colonel Rajesh, who was employed at the Indian embassy in Afghanistan, was the mastermind behind the plan to establish the consortium, he disclosed, showing a letter in Dari which revealed that Col Rajesh had had four meetings with commanders of these terrorist organisations to “synergise their efforts and upscale terrorist activities in metropolitan cities (Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar) in November and December”.

“In one such instance, Indian ambassador to Afghanistan and Indian consular in Jalalabad had detailed discussions with collaborators to provide financial support to TTP and dissident Baloch elements.”

He also gave details of transactions between the Indian intelligence agency RAW and terrorists. “RAW made two transactions to its cut-out to promote terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Both transactions were made through Indian banks.

“[In the first one,] $28,000 was transferred by Punjab Bank in India [while] the second transaction of $55,851 was made by an Indian national Manmeet from an Indian bank in New Delhi, which was received by Afghanistan International Bank. On another occasion, RAW while using the Indian Embassy in Afghanistan held a number of meetings with TTP Commanders.”

India harboring terrorists

He warned that India planned to “upscale terrorist activities in Pakistan” in the coming months, revealing that there had been at least four meetings between Indian intelligence officials and these factions in which they had decided to target big cities, including Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar.

“We have irrefutable evidence that RAW and DIA — their intel agencies — are financing terrorism in Pakistan and training terrorists, harbouring them and taking practical steps to promote terrorism,” he added.

Indian terror camps

Gen Iftikhar said multi-purpose base camps were being utilised by India for training, harbouring and launching of terrorists in Pakistan. Indian intelligence agencies were managing 87 such camps- 66 in Afghanistan and 21 in India.

He said the former Indian ambassador and an Indian army general visited a Baloch militant training camp in Haji Gak area in Afghanistan which housed 150 militants. DG ISPR said the terrorist Ajmal Pahari had confessed in a statement in front of the chief justice of Pakistan that India had established four training camps for the Altaf Hussain group of militants at Dehradun, Haryana, north and north-east India.

India funding TTP

Transactions from Indian sources have been found funding the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, an internationally recognized terrorist organization. RAW made two separate payments amounting to over US$83,000 for terrorist activities in KPK. A letter from India in Dari discusses funding of tune to $820,000 to TTP in Pakistan.  

“RAW made two transactions to promote terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – both transactions were made through Indian banks. A sum of $28,000 was transferred through Punjab Bank India, and another amount of $55,851 was sent by an Indian national Manmeet via New Delhi to Afghanistan International Bank,” DG ISPR said. “A letter in Dari reflects that India paid $820,000 to TTP leadership through its collaborators,” said the DG ISPR.

Targeting CPEC

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a major project that will highly benefit both Pakistan and China. It will be a game-changer in the international trade with the cargo from China reaching far off international destinations at least two weeks earlier. Iftikhar told the press that a separate wing was created in the Indian intelligence to sabotage CPEC. The wing is heavily funded and has already set up a militia for disruption activities, he added.

“The cell works under the supervision of the Indian prime minister and its mandate is to disrupt CPEC projects. A sum of Rs80 billion has been allocated for this purpose,” Iftikhar said. “There are also reports that India has established a 700-strong militia to target CPEC projects.”

Talking about other Indian actions in the province, he said that India was paying large amounts of money to sub-nationalists under the garb of humanitarian assistance work in Balochistan, adding that the security establishment had evidence of four such transactions of $23.35m.

He said confessional statements by Sarfraz Merchant and Tariq Mir revealed that the Altaf Hussain group used to be funded by RAW through two Indian companies (JVGT and Paras Jewellery) and there was evidence of transfer of $3.23m.

India attempting to destabilize Gilgit-Baltistan and AJK

India is aggressively pursuing clandestine agenda of destabilizing Azad Jammu and Kashmir and GB, it was informed. The foreign mnister said India was trying to create unrest in Gilgit Baltistan by fanning nationalism and sub-nationalism before elections in the region.

Qureshi said that the world community knew India was contravening three international conventions: Article 2(4) of United Nations Charter, Article 41(3) of the Vienna Convention, and paras 2 and 5 of UN Security Council Resolution 1373 of 2001.

There was also evidence that RAW was involved in planting IEDs in AJK to target civilians and military personnel.

“Since January 2016, 60 IEDs were planted, out of which 38 exploded resulting in casualties of 13 civilians and 46 military personnel whereas remaining 22 IEDs were successfully neutralised […] There are nine voice notes, which confirm the involvement of officers from Indian intelligence agencies. In one such voice note, an Indian officer explains the methodology for IED plantation.

“RAW has also been attempting to establish a network for target killing of important personalities for a reward ranging between Rs50 to 80m.”

After Pakistan decided to grant provincial status to GB, India has discussed “methodology to trigger negative reactions” which included “mobilization of hostile elements to undertake various subversive operations in Kashmir and GB, staging of terrorist attacks on large public gatherings and assassination of a mainstream/sub-nationalist or a religious leader in AJK or GB”.

Altaf Hussain has Indian connections

MQM’s leader Altaf Hussain, who has been in self-exile in the UK for nearly 3 decades, has been receiving funds from India to create mischief in Pakistan. In this regard, a confessional statement of his party’s own leaders is available.

“Confessional statements by Sarfraz Merchant and Tariq Mir revealed that Altaf Hussain Group (AHG) used to be funded by RAW through two Indian companies (JVGT and Paras Jewelry),” Iftikhar said, adding that there was evidence of transactions worth $3.23 million.

Creating Daesh in Pakistan

India is also trying to install Daesh agents in Pakistan to create anarchy. Recently, Indian intelligence relocated Deash agents along with the Pakistan border.

“Recently, 30 Indian Daesh militants were relocated from India to various camps along Pakistan-Afghanistan border by two Indian intelligence agencies operatives. These militants were handed over to Daesh Commander Shiekh Abdul Rahim alias Abdul Rehman Muslim Dost.”

Pakistan on Saturday unveiled a dossier containing “irrefutable evidence” of India’s sponsorship of terrorism in the country and called on the international community to take notice and make efforts for peace and stability in South Asia.

RAW behind terrorist attacks

The DG ISPR also gave details about a number of terrorist attacks in the country in which RAW was involved including the attack on the Pearl Continental Hotel in Gwadar in 2019, planned by RAW officer Anurag Singh and in which attackers used an Afghan sim and was in contact with an Indian number.

He said that 17 audio recordings of one of the attackers were obtained in which he could be heard talking to his RAW handlers.

“The investigations of the attack on the University of Agriculture in Peshawar in Oct 2017 led to the masterminds of the Army Public School (APS) attack. RAW had hired three facilitators for planning the attack on the university, including Malik Faridoon who was also involved in the planning of APS attack. Malik Faridoon soon after the APS attack, went to Indian consulate in Jalalabad to celebrate.

“The attackers of the [university incident] were in contact with various Afghan numbers during the attack and live-streamed the videos to their handlers, which were uploaded from Afghan IP addresses.”

He also said that security forces discovered a RAW-affiliated sleeper cell in Karachi, adding that 13 members of the gang were apprehended and produced in anti-terrorism courts whereas Mehmood Siddiqui, the main accused who was operating the network, was an absconder and residing in India.

“On Aug 14, Pakistan’s intelligence agencies averted a massive terrorist attack planned by India. An officer from Indian intelligence agency Major Fermin Dass, operating from Kabul was planning the attack. He arranged transportation of mines, rockets and explosives, which were recovered. The network had already carried out seven terrorist attacks in Hub, Mastung, Quetta and Sohrab on RAW’s behest.”

India supplying weapons to terrorists

The DG ISPR said India was supplying weapons, ammunition and IEDs to terrorists as well. A network of six terrorists was recently discovered which also had links to the attack on the Pakistan Stock Exchange in Karachi on June 29 and was responsible for distributing suicide jackets to terrorist organisations in the country. Two RAW frontmen — Abdul Wahid and Abdul Qadir — and four terrorists who were Afghan nationals were exposed, he said.

The network was being paid Rs10m for a suicide attack, Rs10m for a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), Rs1m for an IED attack Rs1m for a target killing by RAW, Gen Iftikhar said. Besides this, he said the Indian intelligence agency was also providing weapons to TTP commanders.

RAW agents were also found involved in motivating tribesmen in KP to send fighters to Afghanistan for training, he said.

Economic coercion

India had been trying to sabotage Pakistan’s attempts to get out of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list by “politicising the forum for economic coercion of Pakistan”, DG ISPR said. “Evidence reveals how extensive lobbying was done (from February to April 2018) for the downgrading of Pakistan’s status, which resulted in our grey-listing in June 2018,”.

Dossier to be presented to UN, OIC, P5 countries

Concluding the press briefing on November 14, Foreign minister Qureshi said that Pakistan would present the dossier containing “concrete proof” to the UN, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and P5 countries (permanent members of the UNSC).

“The evidence provided by Pakistan are concrete proof of Indian financial and material sponsorship of terrorist organizations including UN-designated terrorist organizations JUA, BLA and TTP.

“We expect the international community to play its role for peace and stability in the region by compelling India to immediately halt its state sponsorship of terrorism in Pakistan and to [deal with] all those involved in financing and supporting terrorism in Pakistan according to relevant domestic and international laws,” Qureshi said.

He declared that “India is a state sponsor of terrorism that is consistently exhibiting rogue behaviour. If the world does not take action against the Indian agenda to destabilize and undermine Pakistan, then peace and stability in nuclear-armed South Asia does not seem to be their priority.”

Recalling the sacrifices of the law enforcement and security agencies in “winning the war against terrorism”, Qureshi said Pakistan knew how to defend itself.

“Whether world powers acknowledge it or not, India is a threat to the entire region and they must act to prevent India from continuing its sponsorship [of terrorism] in Pakistan. We deserve the right to defend ourselves in every possible way,” he concluded.