South Asia is the most significant region in global affairs due to its geo-strategic importance and connectivity potential. In the changing geo-political scenario, India was quick to present itself as a good cop and portray Pakistan as a bad cop to the world. It helped India to meet its foreign policy objectives and put Pakistan down in the global environment. The US and other Western global powers could not ignore the good cop and joined hands for all the assistance India needed to maintain its hegemony in the region. India became the darling of the world, as the biggest buyer of arms and ammunition, service provider of IT and opponent of China.
India misused the leverage provided to it by Western powers and engaged itself in kill operations on foreign land and propaganda campaigns to discredit other states. Two kill operations by India on foreign soil have been exposed since September last, one in Canada and the other in the US. Both countries have strategic and friendly ties with India. Indian expose in Canada and the USA for the assassination of two Sikh leaders has put a question mark on the credibility of India as a responsible state. It is a breach of trust and a new misnomer in global affairs. India managed to kill Sikh leader, Hardeep Singh Najjar in Surrey, Canada in September 2023 but caught its pants down in the US when a plot to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun was un-earthed by US authorities. Canadian Prime Minister openly charge sheeted India and closed its diplomatic relations with Bharat. The US has also officially charge-sheeted India for plotting an assassination attempt to kill a US citizen on American soil.
India has been running two parallel propaganda campaigns, the first to malign other states, particularly Pakistan, through disinformation and the second campaign to discredit US officials and academia who are critical of Modi’s government. Indian fake news and propaganda moves against other states were exposed by EU DisinfoLab in 2019 and have been unearthed by the Washington Post in its 10 December 2023 edition.
Washington Post in a startling revelation in its 10 December 2023 story “Covert Indian Operation seeks to discredit Modi’s critics in the US unearthed an impervious organization calling itself
‘Disinfo Lab’ has been painting US government figures, researchers, humanitarian groups and Indian American rights activists as part of a conspiracy, purportedly led by global Islamic groups and billionaire George Soros, to undermine India.
India under the Modi government has been exposed to the world community as the most irresponsible state which has threatened global peace. Kill missions, covert propaganda campaigns, and false flag operations, have been a continuous practice of India for the last decade, to achieve its foreign policy objectives and win elections at home. It is an extremely dangerous approach by the world’s most populated country.
There has been a determined effort to affect U.S. policy toward Pakistan since the election of Narendra Modi’s government, which has the well-documented goal of isolating Pakistan. Indian lobbyists have misrepresented Pakistan, portraying it as insolvent, home to terrorists, and a regional nuisance. India was particularly active throughout the Obama and Trump administrations to influence U.S. foreign policy against Pakistan.
Since its rise to government in 2014, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been enforcing its Hindutva ideology to convert India into Hindu Rashtra, Modi’s strategy towards attainment of this objective has been through no-dialogue and direct interference policy, thus risking the regional security. The BJP government has been promoting right wing extremist organizations like RSS, BJP, VHP, Bajrang Dal and Shiv Sena. These extremist groups are armed and they use horrific means to suppress the Muslim minority at home. Modi government took two months to respond to Manipur incidents of ethnic violence in which 100 lives were lost in May 2023. BJP government only came up with lame excuses when a video went viral in which two Kuki women were paraded naked by a violent mob.
India misused the leverage provided by Western powers and engaged itself in kill operations on foreign land and propaganda campaigns to discredit other states.
BJP’s extremist policies got prominence when they attacked and demolished Babri Masjid and later the Gujrat massacre to earn a Hindu majority vote. It turned the political tide in favour of Hindu nationalists and through consistent efforts, they rose to the center of Indian politics. With the arrival of the BJP to the centre of Indian politics, the Modi-led BJP found a greater opportunity to drive anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistan policies domestically, regionally and also on a global front.
In 1971, India created a terrorist group ” Mukti Bahni” in East Pakistan which helped to terrorize locals, put the blame on Pakistani forces and also helped the Indian Army to achieve an edge over Pakistani forces.
India mobilized its forces in December 2001 after a false flag on the Indian Parliament in Mumbai. Pakistan was forced to move its troops to the border thus two nuclear arch-rivals became face to face on the eastern border.
The US attacked Afghanistan in September 2001 and asked Pakistan to be a frontline coalition partner in the War against Terrorism. Pakistan moved its forces to FATA along the western border. Thus Pakistan was sand witched between eastern and western borders at a stretch of about 4000 square Kilometer.
Indian RAW along with Afghan NDS established nexus in Afghanistan against Pakistan. There were at least 17 Indian consulates in Afghanistan which were used for training of Baloch insurgents and planning of terrorist attacks in Pakistan. Afghan media, particularly Tolo News, Khamaa Press, and Pajhowk News were used against Pakistan.
Pakistan forces were fully engaged in the line of control, working boundary and FATA to fight a two-front war when India arranged another false flag in Mumbai in 2008 and tension escalated between the two countries. It was almost the same time when Pakistani security forces started kinetic operations in FATA and Malakand (KPK).
India has been trying to isolate Pakistan not only on the diplomatic front but also in Sports. In 2009, the Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked in Lahore to close the doors to international cricket in Pakistan. The cricket board in Pakistan has ever since been struggling to get international cricket in Pakistan. But ICC, which is considered front of BCCI has been creating obstacles for international cricket in Pakistan.
In 2016 Surgical Strike was yet another false flag to deceive Indian Hindu extremis.
Pulwama was a false flag. Ex-governor of occupied Kashmir, SatyaPal Malik and many other influential voices like Jayoti Malhotra declared Pulwama a false flag aimed to malign Pakistan.
This entire effort of India is focused on discrediting Pakistan. India’s most potent foreign policy tool has not been its military might but its fake narrative against Pakistan. India did everything possible to project a negative image of Pakistan in the world community. This obsession is rooted in the philosophy of Chanakya Kautilya and is often referred to during election campaigns and political rallies.
The writer can be reached at atiquesheikh2000@gmail.com.