Daily Times

Security forces in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) are reported to be using chemical weapons against the Kashmiris. In their fresh reign of terror launched after the brutal assassination of 20-year-old popular Kashmiri youth leader Burhan Wani on 8 July 2016, thousands of Kashmiris came out and held protest demonstrations. The iconic and mercurial Burhan Wani had added fresh impetus to the Kashmiri movement through a bold use of the social media using his real name. Indian Security Forces (ISF) trapped the dauntless youth and eliminated him. What the Indian forces failed to foresee was that Burhan Wani’s martyrdom acted as a catalyst into galvanising the Kashmiri youth into mass movement that paralysed IOK. Curfews and incessant use of force did not deter the oppressed residents of the valley, who continued their just struggle.

The Indian security forced picked out a page from the book of Israeli tyranny against the subjugated Palestinians, the vicious use of pellet guns to fire volleys of pellets, directly aiming at the face and eyes. The recent protest movement has been in progress for the last 16 months, during which the security forces have killed nearly 200 Kashmiri youth and blinded nearly 3,600 children. The pellets penetrate the eyes permanently blinding the target. International humanitarians have taken cognisance of this depraved tactic being used by the ISF but instead of being deterred by international censure, India launched a series of false flag operations against its own installations, blaming Pakistan for the atrocious attacks. This was done in a bid to divert the world’s attention from the security forces’ transgressions against the Kashmiris and for making Pakistan the focus of world derision by accusing it of  ‘sponsoring terrorism’.

This July, as the first anniversary of Burhan Wani’s martyrdom approached, Indian defence planners became nervous that the protest movement in IOK would assume greater intensity. A more macabre plot was hatched – the use of chemical weapons.

In order to afflict collective punishment to Kashmiris for their continued wave of protests and refusal to cow down in face of brute force, on July 4 2017, the Indian Army destroyed 4 houses in Pulwama and killed 3 Kashmiri civilians. Upon recovery of the bodies it was discovered that they were burnt beyond recognition. Sources report that ISF is again emulating Israeli tactics by using white phosphorus bombs to destroy the houses of Kashmiris suspected of ‘harbouring’ Mujahedeen. The same weapons were used by Israel during its attacks on Gaza – apparently the heinous arsenal has been provided by Israel to India for use in IOK.

The Indian security forces picked out a page from the book of Israeli tyranny against the subjugated Palestinians when they viciously used pellet guns to fire shots, aiming directly at the protesters’ eyes

The plot, however, thickened as Indian media released fabricated news to create panic and alarm amongst the masses while blaming Pakistan so that international pressure on Pakistan to stop supporting terrorism mounts further.

Indian TV channel “Times Now”, on November 1st, 2017 broke the ‘news’ in a sensational manner, claiming that Pakistan intelligence agency ISI is plotting the use of biological weapons along the Line of Control (LoC). It was claimed that ISI chief Lieutenant General Naveed Mukhtar, along with a team of intelligence agency officials, met Hizb-ul-Mujahedeen and Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) activists on October 9, 2017 close to the LoC at Chakothi, District Bagh in Azad Jammu Kashmir and assured them of providing funding to unleash terror activities in Kashmir.

To add intensity to the scare being created, it was declared that twenty officers of Pakistan Army are currently undergoing training in the use of biological and chemical weapons in China. On their return, they will be deployed along the LoC so that the horror of chemical and biological warfare can be unleashed on India, purporting that this wave of terrorism, conducted by Hizb-ul-Mujahedeen and JeM activists, will commence in November 2017 and reach its peak on India’s Republic Day (January 26, 2018), claiming thousands of lives.

This bogus propaganda went unnoticed in Pakistan because local media is too busy covering domestic political strife. This scribe learnt of the heinous plot through an invitation to join a talk show on the Indian channel Times Now on November 1st, 2017 to discuss the alleged plot. The vitriolic Indian media continued its incessant Pakistan bashing, taking sadistic pleasure in maligning Pakistan through deceit and guile, following the Chanakyan principle of “Tell a lie so often that it appears to be the truth!”

It is evident that the Indian army has commenced a fresh wave of terror, using chemical weapons against innocent protesters in IOK while playing a blame game against Pakistan. It is pertinent to mention here that the use of chemical incendiaries against civilians is a blatant violation of the international law and should be brought up at the UN and other forums such as OIC, SAARC and SCO. The need of the hour is to remain vigilant and expose the heinous machinations of ISF against humanity.

The writer is a retired Group Captain of PAF. He is a columnist, analyst and TV Talk show host, who has authored six books on current affairs, including three on China

Published in Daily Times, November 25^th 2017.