Daily Times

A rogue state, as defined by the Oxford Languages, is “a state regarded as breaking international law and posing a threat to the security of other nations”. It is also defined as one that is repressive within, aggressive towards its neighbors, supports and sponsors terrorism, has WMDs and is a threat to world peace. Ironically, the machinations of a rogue state are overlooked if it does not fall within the selective bracket of the West. India, otherwise ticking all the boxes of a rogue state, remains a classic example.

This is also despite the recent 27th Report of the UN Analytical and Monitoring Team vindicating Pakistan’s long standing stance. Pakistan has continuously stressed the fact at international forums about terror groups operating from within Afghanistan along with India’s role in supporting and coordinating their terror activities against Pakistan. The report highlights how these groups were responsible for over a hundred cross border attacks in Pakistan within three months (alone) last year.

India’s role in international terrorism and its nexus with ISIS, ISK (Islamic State Khorasan) and other outfits operating from Afghanistan abetted by Indian sponsored elements within Pakistan is a proven fact. The heart rending Peshawar APS tragedy was perpetrated by this nexus. Kulbhushan Jadhav’s terror assignments and the 25 March 2020 attack on Har Rai Sahib Sikh Gurdawara in Kabul which saw the brutal murder of 50 Sikh worshippers and Afghan security personnel was also an indicator of India’s terror activities. The gurdawara attack was led by twenty nine year old Abu Khalid al-Hindi, the nom de guerre of Muhammad Mohsin from Kasaragod, Kerala. Another attacker was identified as Sajid Kuthirulmmal, again a resident of Kasargod.

The recent Biden call to Modi where the former eulogized their “shared ‘democratic’ values” was an epitome of unabashed duplicity

Deaf to Kulbhushan’s revelations and Pakistan’s dossier, India’s terror nexus also lay bare when the US, on 13 April 2017, dropped an 11 ton Massive Ordnance Air Blast on an ISIS hideout in Nangarhar’s Achin district. Of the 96 that perished, 13 were Indian fighters and their RAW handlers. A large number of Indian nationals were among the 1,400 ISK militants who surrendered to Afghan security forces last year. Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) is al Qaeda’s affiliate for South Asia. On 23 September 2019, Asim Omar, the supreme leader of AQIS was killed in the Musa Qila district of Helmand. An Indian, he was born Sanaul Haq in Mohalla Deepa Sarai, Sambhal, UP.

The 2 August 2020 Jalalabad prison attack by eleven ISK militants saw a 20 hour gun battle resulting in the death of 29 people. Over one thousand of the 1793 inmates, most of them militants, escaped. The attack was led by Ijas Kallukettiya Purayil (a doctor) aka Abu Rayyan Al Hindi a resident of Padanna in Kasargod district. Two others were Bexon Isa aka Abu Rawaha Al Hindi from Palakkad and Sajjad aka Abu Noah from Kannur; all three were Keralites. Al Naba, mouthpiece of ISIS, dedicated its front page to the three.

In August 2017, Amaq Agency, the official media channel of ISIS, reported the death of Abu Yusuf al-Hindi in an operation in the Syrian city of Raqqa. Al Hindi was the pseudonym of Mohammed Shafi Armar, a resident of Bhatkal in Karnataka. He remained in Afghanistan before going to Syria. Sawt al Hind (Voice of India) is an IS India specific magazine. In its 29 March 2020 issue it calls on Indian Muslims to join ISIS. The magazine coincided with and carried images of mobs brutally attacking Muslims in last year’s Delhi riots.

India’s Citizenship Amendment Act, abrogation of Article 370 and its brutalization of Indian Muslims are exactly the recruiting tools to send droves into ISIS and other militant outfits. The evolving ISIS strategy sees Sawt al Hind now being released in Urdu, Hindi and Bengali. Its August 2020 issue has the front page showing an Indian militant holding the ISIS flag and standing on a road leading to Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. The ominous fallout of supporting and sponsoring such outfits are the unintended implosive consequences.

Like a benign John Masters’ novel, the recent exposure of India’s 15 year criminal machinations has been dubbed the “Indian Chronicles”. The reality had a brazen state sponsored campaign of deceit spanning European capitals and UN bodies. It saw India duping them all through a plethora of bogus accusations and false-flag operations maligning Pakistan. The immensely worrying aspect, apart from the global silence after the expose, is that these fallacies were accepted. As a result, Pakistan suffered extremely adverse political, diplomatic and economic fallout.

Vying to bring in the otherwise elusive peace to Afghanistan may have been Trump’s single worthy endeavor. As Ambassador MK Bhadrakumar wrote in an op-ed, it also saw “India being relegated to a doormat in Afghanistan”. Seeing all its machinations fail, India has resorted to sabotage the peace process by spiked up terror attacks in Afghanistan through its proxies. Pakistan, working ardently towards this peace process, is bearing the brunt too as is evident from the chilling murder of innocent Hazara miners and stepped up attacks on military personnel and check posts in Balochistan and Waziristan.

Terming India a repressive state shall be an understatement. In this day and age where freedom and liberty are much touted catchphrases, Kashmir remains the largest concentration camp on earth. Kashmiris remain subjected to genocidal brutalities since years; the demography of their land is being blatantly subverted by India. What could be a more chilling example of India’s unchecked inhumanity than charging Mushtaq Wani under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, a draconian terror law that does not include a provision for bail?

Mushtaq’s only sin was demanding the release of his son’s body. Ather Mushtaq, a grade 11 student, was murdered by Indian security forces along with Ajaz Maqbool and Zubair Ahmad Lone. The three had left their homes on December 29 to submit admission forms for their next classes. The innocent boys were dubbed “terrorists” with Kashmir Police Chief Vijay Kumar proclaiming that their bodies would not be handed over to their families. During the last year alone, 125 Kashmiris were brutally murdered by Indian forces. Their bodies were not handed over to their families; they were buried in far flung areas.

Within India, religious minorities and those from scheduled castes live in abject fear. The protesting Sikh community, the feeding lifeline of India has been pushed to the wall because of years of anti-farmer policies. According to figures released by National Crime Record Bureau, 67634 farmers committed suicide from 2015 to 2019. The apathy of the callous Indian regime can be well gauged from State agriculture minister BC Patil’s recent salvo of “farmers who commit suicide are cowards”.

India’s dangerous instability can also be well gauged from the recent Arnab Goswami case where it came to fore that Modi used the Pulwama false flag operation and military strikes against Pakistan to bolster his electoral base. Arnab, who knew about them beforehand, used it as a tool to boost his TRPs! Modi, his NSA, Defense Minister and military chief also threaten Pakistan with nuclear strikes. As the world keeps mum, this maniacally irresponsible India has garnered the audacity to feel entitled to be a terror-abetting member of the Security Council.

Abiding by international covenants and obligations is a fetter for countries that would otherwise morph into rogue states. India unfettered, has a stated policy of working towards fomenting terror (Ajit Doval’s declared thousand cuts) and dismembering Pakistan (again). It also targets men, women and children multiple times daily across the LOC with barrages of mortar and heavy fire. One can well imagine the collective fury and retaliation if the perpetrators had been from Pakistan or a Muslim country.

With both adversaries bearing nuclear weapons, Modi treads a path wrought with immensely dangerous ramifications. It attains an even more nightmarish magnitude with the world choosing to turn a blind eye to India’s proven criminalities. The recent Biden call to Modi where the former eulogized their “shared ‘democratic’ values” was an epitome of unabashed duplicity. Going by this standard why impeach Trump and demonize those who attacked Capitol Hill? This is the criminal carte blanche that emboldens India, a rogue state, to continue its atrocities and adventurism that can tragically lead to a conflict which pales the Great War in ambit, death and destruction.

The writer can be reached at miradnanaziz@gmail.com