‘India-Afghan ties worried Pak army’

New Delhi: A policy document prepared by the Pakistani army officers serving with the Peshawar based XI corps, that is active in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), shows how Pakistan’s army, by their own admission, was worried about India’s policies with regards to Afghanistan which they called a “threat’.

The 49-page undated document, which The Sunday Guardian has accessed, was likely written somewhere around 2010 as the content of the report suggests.

The report focuses on Pakistan army’s operation in the FATA and NWFP areas that borders Afghanistan. It extensively deals with how and what the army should do to tackle the “miscreants” active in the region.

The writer of the report, under a sub-head, “Focal points of Threat”, has mentioned that: “After the fall of the Taliban government in Afghanistan, India has found an opportunity to constantly pressurize Pakistan. Establishment of pro-Indian government in Afghanistan poses a potent threat to the security of the adjoining regions of FATA. By constant interference with the help of newly established consulates, it can even destabilize the internal fault lines of the society. India has also attempted to use this forum for pressurizing Pakistan to lay-off from Kashmir.”

It further goes on to say that “India would continue to dominate the formulation of policies by the Afghan regime towards Pakistan and its constant involvement in the tribal areas would continue.”

According to the author of the report, “the failure of the US government to apprehend either of the top leadership of Al Qaeda or Taliban, has increased the domestic pressure and criticism that they were facing”.

The report further notes, “The resurgence in Taliban attacks has raised alarm for the Coalition Forces and the Afghan government. The consequent pressure on Pakistan to reign in the Taliban, especially in FATA, has increased as is evident in recent statements of President Karzai and some coalition partners. The whole atmosphere is being vitiated (against Pakistan) by diverse interests sitting inside Afghanistan”.

The report then comes to India. “Indians seem to have gained out of the whole gamut by drawing cleavage among Pakistan, coalition partners and Afghanistan”.

According to the report, “The expansion of NATO to the rest of Afghanistan, especially the troubled eastern Pakhtun provinces, is likely to synergise Taliban resistance. Iran’s nuclear issue and any misadventure in that realm shall have obvious negative implications for Pakistan. The current stance of the government to oppose the use of force against Iran is, therefore, predictably wise and savvy in the long run,” it reads.

Commenting on the operation carried out by the Pakistan army, it goes on to say that, “Pakistan Army is trained on the conventional warfare footings and the mindset is focused on fighting against the Indians. The training parameters are also laid on the same lines. Nevertheless, the forces are faced with a challenge which requires a paradigm shift in the training mindset.”

The report further goes on to identify the “key miscreants” who are highly active in the NWA and FATA region. “Presently, the key miscreants who are highly active in NWA are: Sirajuddin Haqqani–Darpa Khel; Sadiq Noor–Khatti Kili; Gulbahadur–Datta Khel (ameer of Miranshah subdiv); Mir Kalam–Datta Khel; Sangeen (an Afghani and close associate of Baitullah Mahsud)–Dande Saidgai; Abdul Khaliq–Mohtamim of erstwhile Madrassah Gulshan-e-Uloom

The report further states that the Pakistan army “should induct anti-mine/ mine proof vehicles as done by Indian Army to protect themselves from IEDs” which, as per the report, “are procured from major electronic markets of Pakistan (which is a result of) the insufficient security checks between settled areas and FATA”.