“To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme
excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance
without fighting” Sun Tzu
Many ancient cultures and religions across the world believe
in the existence of super natural powers. In Jewish mythology, Shedim is one of
several supernatural creatures which is also a resemble of the Islamic concept
of Jinn. Both are said to be invisible to human eye and the jinn are said to be
creatures with free will, who were created from 'smokeless fire' by Allah. Beliefs
in entities similar to the jinn are found throughout pre-Islamic Middle Eastern
cultures and affirmation on the existence of Jinn as sapient beings living
along with humans is still widespread. It is also believed that King Solomon
used to have power over the Jinn. He could hear, see, talk to them and command
them to do stuff for him making Jinn an essential element of the Army Force of
King Solomon.
Centuries later, we have unseen soldiers and armies who are Humans
and not Jinn. As our world becomes unpredictable, what was earlier a fight for
land or resources has now become a fight for dominance and power at times in
the name of religion and culture. There are powerful countries who control the
global economics and trade and they have allies who help these countries
maintain their power and dominance. In the recent years, the battles between
armies has become a war between the army and its own civilians. Today there is
a long list of nations whose leaders and governments have been toppled or
ousted by its citizens. Is this because the people of these countries are tired
of their leaders and governments? or is this the new way wars are fought?
Some of the most powerful countries have mastered the art of
creating official and sometime unofficial, ghost armies and shadow warriors who
defend these nations against their enemies. Mossad, KGB, CIA, MI6 and many more
such intelligence agencies have existed for decades, executing some of the most
classified and gruesome operations for their countries. The operations need to
be well funded and these agencies rely on the heavy funding that they receive
from their governments, billions of dollars that are used to fund these covert
operations and the army of "assets" and "informers". These
agencies work beyond borders and that means that they need a lot of funding and
they need it regularly. When the risks and threats are minimal the funding of
these agencies are also reduced, this brings about a challenge for these
agencies and it becomes imperative for them to ensure that keep the wheels
turning.
The primary task of these is agencies usually is to defend their country against any current and future threats posed by any external or internal elements. A task that is usually classified as "Homeland Security". A lot times some of these agencies have been blamed for malpractices. While they try to ensure that they don't lose out on the funding or are not sidelined. One such agency is the ISI of Pakistan. An intelligence agency which has not only been blamed to have worked on destabilizing India but sometimes has also been blamed for working against Pakistan itself. It is believed that the ISI has a very strong influence on the Pakistani politics. These agencies at times are required to carry out operations and tasks which to a lot of people might be immoral however these men are trained to carry out orders that at any cost to defend their nation.
The militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba also referred to as the LeT, is widely blamed for the November 2008 Mumbai attacks and the the US government has put a $10m bounty for its founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed. Saeed now heads the Jamaat-ud-Dawa group also called the JuD, widely seen as a front for LeT. For decades, Pakistan and the ISI have been trying to destabilize the Indian forces active in the Indian-controlled Kashmir. The Pakistani Army along with ISI have long considered Lashkar-e-Taiba to be the country’s most reliable proxy against India and the LeT began carrying out operations in Indian-controlled Kashmir in the 1990s. It actively infiltrated militants across the Line of Control from Pakistan to carry out sabotage activities with the help of the ISI. India and Pakistan have been arm twisting each other since their independence however in the last 3 decades the ISI has been growing its influence and has been operating against India.
The roots of this war goes back to the British India, A country which was ruled by the British around 200 years and was divided between the Muslim Minority and the Hindu Majority which during the independence from the British, resulted in creating Pakistan and India. The partition left more than 12.5 million displaced and more than 1 million dead and since then relations between both these nations have been both complex and fragile. India and Pakistan since then have fought numerous wars which sabotaged the diplomatic and political efforts of creating stronger economic ties between the countries. The political leadership of both the countries have accused each other of escalating the Kashmir dispute and using clandestine agents to sponsor terror across their borders.
After fighting numerous wars, and conflicts both the countries today have taken a diplomatic route and have been trying to enhance the bilateral relations but it is a love-hate relationship and there is a long way to go in order to have a diplomatic solution. Both these nuclear powers know that direct war could be a very big threat to them and they have strategically been fighting a “Proxy War” between the intelligence agencies of both the countries: The Research and Analysis Wing of India know as RAW and The Inter-Services Intelligence of Pakistan known as the ISI. These organizations that are ideally meant to provide intelligence that protects their nations are engaged in fighting a proxy war and which has affected the geo-political scenario of the region.
When America launched its war on terror and the began the hunt for the worlds most wanted man, it worked closely with Pakistan without knowing that a decade later America will find its enemy living in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The world was shocked by this and started to look at Pakistan’s role in providing a safe haven for terrorists and realize that Pakistan could be on its way to become a rogue nation. The question is not how Osama Bin Laden was living in Pakistan, without the knowledge of the government but the real question is who in Pakistan has made it a safe haven for terror? Is it the Pakistani people? Or the Pakistani government? Or is it the Pakistani Army and the ISI?
The world understands that Osama Bin Laden was not the first terrorist who was in Pakistan and may be not the last either. Al Qaeda's Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Abu Zubaydah, Abu Laith al Libi and Sheikh Said Masri have all been captured or killed inside Pakistan. The Haqqani network too has been growing in Pakistan and the Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of US, Mike Mullen described the Haqqani Network as the 'veritable arm of Pakistan's ISI'. The Kunduz airlift, also popularly called the "Airlift of Evil" where several Pakistani Air Force transport planes flying multiple sorties over a number of days evacuated about 5000 of the top leadership of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda who were encircled by Nato forces in the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan.
For decades India has been speaking about Pakistan and the ISI’s role in escalating the Kashmir issue; the attacks of 26/11 in Mumbai and the 93 serial blasts in Mumbai. India’s most wanted man and the key conspirator of the 93 serial blasts, Dawood Ibrahim has been rumored to be living in Pakistan and also Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of the 26/11 massacre in Mumbai continues to live in Pakistan. Back in 1994, when the Yakub Memon, the younger brother of Tiger Memon, who is believed to have executed the serial blasts in Mumbai in 93, was arrested. Yakub confessed that he had been living with Tiger Memon and his family in Karachi, Pakistan and that ISI agents had provided shelter and fake documents to him and his family. He also alleged that Dawood Ibrahim, was also in Pakistan and that Tiger Memon ran a successful construction business in Pakistan. Yakub also provided the Indian government with intelligence to prove that ISI and Tiger Memon had planned the entire attack on Mumbai.
This confession shocked India and the government now wanted this confession to be heard by the world and allowed an interview by Newstrack, a half-hour news analysis show on Doordarshan. The Indian government and the international community put pressure on Pakistan to hand over Tiger Memon to India but the Pakistani government denied his presence in Pakistan. Following this the ISI gained the confidence that this proxy war can be fought successfully.
In a recent book, Ajit Doval, a former Indian intelligence and law enforcement officer and the current National Security Advisor to Prime Minister of India highlighted ISI’s role in the crisis of the Indian Airline Flight IC-814 which was hijacked in 1999. Doval claimed that the hijackers were communicating directly with ISI officers in Kandahar and if the Taliban hijackers did not have ISI’s support, India could have resolved the crisis. There have been many more such allegations against the ISI and its role in destabilizing India, in 2008 when an armed group of LeT backed terrorist attacked Mumbai. When Ajmal Kasab, the only surviving terrorist was interrogated, he confessed that he was from the LeT and in 2010 India's home secretary, G. K. Pillai accused Pakistan's ISI of collaborating with the Lashkar e Taiba (LeT) terrorist group to mount the attacks.
The ISI has a growing influence in the region and the past has proved that the ISI is capable of going on a war with a country without even stepping on its soil. From Osama Bin Laden to Dawood Ibrahim to Hafeez Saeed all of these names have been linked to the ISI and it is important for India to keep a close watch on Pakistan to ensure safety of its citizens and stability in region from a nuclear power, who has an army of Shadow Warriors, with growing capabilities, they are not only against India but are also a threat to the safety and stability of their own country, making Pakistan one of the most unsafe places for its own citizen’s. India has been increasing its global influence and strengthening its foreign relations with a close watch on its neighbor. The balance of power and responsibility needs to maintained before Pakistan becomes a rogue nation.
The primary task of these is agencies usually is to defend their country against any current and future threats posed by any external or internal elements. A task that is usually classified as "Homeland Security". A lot times some of these agencies have been blamed for malpractices. While they try to ensure that they don't lose out on the funding or are not sidelined. One such agency is the ISI of Pakistan. An intelligence agency which has not only been blamed to have worked on destabilizing India but sometimes has also been blamed for working against Pakistan itself. It is believed that the ISI has a very strong influence on the Pakistani politics. These agencies at times are required to carry out operations and tasks which to a lot of people might be immoral however these men are trained to carry out orders that at any cost to defend their nation.
The militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba also referred to as the LeT, is widely blamed for the November 2008 Mumbai attacks and the the US government has put a $10m bounty for its founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed. Saeed now heads the Jamaat-ud-Dawa group also called the JuD, widely seen as a front for LeT. For decades, Pakistan and the ISI have been trying to destabilize the Indian forces active in the Indian-controlled Kashmir. The Pakistani Army along with ISI have long considered Lashkar-e-Taiba to be the country’s most reliable proxy against India and the LeT began carrying out operations in Indian-controlled Kashmir in the 1990s. It actively infiltrated militants across the Line of Control from Pakistan to carry out sabotage activities with the help of the ISI. India and Pakistan have been arm twisting each other since their independence however in the last 3 decades the ISI has been growing its influence and has been operating against India.
The roots of this war goes back to the British India, A country which was ruled by the British around 200 years and was divided between the Muslim Minority and the Hindu Majority which during the independence from the British, resulted in creating Pakistan and India. The partition left more than 12.5 million displaced and more than 1 million dead and since then relations between both these nations have been both complex and fragile. India and Pakistan since then have fought numerous wars which sabotaged the diplomatic and political efforts of creating stronger economic ties between the countries. The political leadership of both the countries have accused each other of escalating the Kashmir dispute and using clandestine agents to sponsor terror across their borders.
After fighting numerous wars, and conflicts both the countries today have taken a diplomatic route and have been trying to enhance the bilateral relations but it is a love-hate relationship and there is a long way to go in order to have a diplomatic solution. Both these nuclear powers know that direct war could be a very big threat to them and they have strategically been fighting a “Proxy War” between the intelligence agencies of both the countries: The Research and Analysis Wing of India know as RAW and The Inter-Services Intelligence of Pakistan known as the ISI. These organizations that are ideally meant to provide intelligence that protects their nations are engaged in fighting a proxy war and which has affected the geo-political scenario of the region.
When America launched its war on terror and the began the hunt for the worlds most wanted man, it worked closely with Pakistan without knowing that a decade later America will find its enemy living in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The world was shocked by this and started to look at Pakistan’s role in providing a safe haven for terrorists and realize that Pakistan could be on its way to become a rogue nation. The question is not how Osama Bin Laden was living in Pakistan, without the knowledge of the government but the real question is who in Pakistan has made it a safe haven for terror? Is it the Pakistani people? Or the Pakistani government? Or is it the Pakistani Army and the ISI?
The world understands that Osama Bin Laden was not the first terrorist who was in Pakistan and may be not the last either. Al Qaeda's Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Abu Zubaydah, Abu Laith al Libi and Sheikh Said Masri have all been captured or killed inside Pakistan. The Haqqani network too has been growing in Pakistan and the Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of US, Mike Mullen described the Haqqani Network as the 'veritable arm of Pakistan's ISI'. The Kunduz airlift, also popularly called the "Airlift of Evil" where several Pakistani Air Force transport planes flying multiple sorties over a number of days evacuated about 5000 of the top leadership of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda who were encircled by Nato forces in the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan.
For decades India has been speaking about Pakistan and the ISI’s role in escalating the Kashmir issue; the attacks of 26/11 in Mumbai and the 93 serial blasts in Mumbai. India’s most wanted man and the key conspirator of the 93 serial blasts, Dawood Ibrahim has been rumored to be living in Pakistan and also Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of the 26/11 massacre in Mumbai continues to live in Pakistan. Back in 1994, when the Yakub Memon, the younger brother of Tiger Memon, who is believed to have executed the serial blasts in Mumbai in 93, was arrested. Yakub confessed that he had been living with Tiger Memon and his family in Karachi, Pakistan and that ISI agents had provided shelter and fake documents to him and his family. He also alleged that Dawood Ibrahim, was also in Pakistan and that Tiger Memon ran a successful construction business in Pakistan. Yakub also provided the Indian government with intelligence to prove that ISI and Tiger Memon had planned the entire attack on Mumbai.
This confession shocked India and the government now wanted this confession to be heard by the world and allowed an interview by Newstrack, a half-hour news analysis show on Doordarshan. The Indian government and the international community put pressure on Pakistan to hand over Tiger Memon to India but the Pakistani government denied his presence in Pakistan. Following this the ISI gained the confidence that this proxy war can be fought successfully.
In a recent book, Ajit Doval, a former Indian intelligence and law enforcement officer and the current National Security Advisor to Prime Minister of India highlighted ISI’s role in the crisis of the Indian Airline Flight IC-814 which was hijacked in 1999. Doval claimed that the hijackers were communicating directly with ISI officers in Kandahar and if the Taliban hijackers did not have ISI’s support, India could have resolved the crisis. There have been many more such allegations against the ISI and its role in destabilizing India, in 2008 when an armed group of LeT backed terrorist attacked Mumbai. When Ajmal Kasab, the only surviving terrorist was interrogated, he confessed that he was from the LeT and in 2010 India's home secretary, G. K. Pillai accused Pakistan's ISI of collaborating with the Lashkar e Taiba (LeT) terrorist group to mount the attacks.
The ISI has a growing influence in the region and the past has proved that the ISI is capable of going on a war with a country without even stepping on its soil. From Osama Bin Laden to Dawood Ibrahim to Hafeez Saeed all of these names have been linked to the ISI and it is important for India to keep a close watch on Pakistan to ensure safety of its citizens and stability in region from a nuclear power, who has an army of Shadow Warriors, with growing capabilities, they are not only against India but are also a threat to the safety and stability of their own country, making Pakistan one of the most unsafe places for its own citizen’s. India has been increasing its global influence and strengthening its foreign relations with a close watch on its neighbor. The balance of power and responsibility needs to maintained before Pakistan becomes a rogue nation.
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