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India was not taken in by Imran Khan. The realities of the situation have only become clearer today

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Arindam De
Arindam DeFeb 18, 2019 | 11:20

India was not taken in by Imran Khan. The realities of the situation have only become clearer today

The Pakistani Army still calls the shots in Pakistan and in the strategies of terror being used. The only naya change is the growing use of Jaish-e-Mohammed over the Lashkar.

The political antecedents and the support base of Pakistan PM Imran Khan were always, to my mind, suspicious.

A spate of attacks on security force personnel in the Kashmir Valley, capped by the dastardly fidayeen VBIED strike in Pulwama, just reinforced those questions about the agenda he has and will be fronting in the coming days.

Not that there was much doubt earlier.

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It was amply clear as long ago as in December last year when Imran Khan claimed the ruling BJP was 'anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistan', and expressed the hope that stalled bilateral talks could resume after the General Elections in India, in an interview given to the Washington Post.

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There were always doubts about his role. Those are now becoming certainties. (Photo: PTI)

The problem with Pakistan is that a civilian government acts as a front office for the virulent agenda-drivers working behind the scenes. The army creates, nurtures and destroys terror groups, political parties and institutions at its own will.

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Who's calling the shots in Pakistan? The answer is evident. (Photo: Twitter)

It’s the same with the present Pakistan PM. He knows very well that his government will be used to mainstream terrorist groups and leaders, chief among them, Hafiz Saeed, and provide them with political legitimacy, but he will not be able to do anything about it — ever. Imran Khan is well aware of what’s happening to Nawaz Sharif. Even Jaish chief Maulana Masood Azhar may be pushed into a more mainstream profile sometime. Who knows?

International pressure has forced Pakistan to keep the Lashkar under wraps for now. The favoured weapon of choice at the moment is Jaish-e-Mohammed. But there is a problem with Jaish — something that the Pakistan Army-ISI brass must have noted.

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Unlike Lashkar's almost unquestioning acceptance of its 'controllers', Jaish can be harder to control. It has not shied away, for instance, from targeting even Pakistan's military assets. Remember, it targetted former President Musharraf, twice in a month, in December 2003.

For now, though, Pakistan's terror handlers are pleased with Jaish's ability to create mayhem and recruit radicals in India.

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Two well-known Pakistanis — international terrorists Hafiz Saeed and Maulana Masood Azhar. (Photo: Reuters)

Jaish, on its part, has changed its strategy of operating in Kashmir — instead of the traditional practice of sending recruits to PoK for training, it has roped in terror trainers from its camps in PoK, including a few seasoned Afghan veterans. Training reportedly takes place in the hilly tracts of South Kashmir.

Another shift is the use of VBIED. Car and other vehicle-borne attacks are difficult to stop or predict.

The third and most chilling aspect is the different level of radicalisation that Jaish seems to have achieved, where a young boy was brainwashed to act as a car bomber in less than a year.

Lastly, it seems that using 'low-ranking' terror operatives for big operations is also a part of the ploy to catch security and intelligence agencies off-guard.

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Chillingly, these strategies bear resemblance to those employed by ISIS. The targeted killing of individuals and circulating videos of the act is another of ISIS's signature move — the Valley is seeing that too.

The Pakistan army has probably not forgotten or forgiven Jaish for targeting one of its own. However, it seems happy with Jaish — for now.

We shall have to wait and see whether intense pressure from India — and probably from China — will change this at some point in time.

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China has helped Pakistan shield Maulana Masood Azhar. For how long will that go on? (Photo: Reuters)

Currently, China is the only international country whose support, and veto power is keeping Masood Azhar out of sanctions. However, if it believes that the stakes are high enough to hurt China’s interests, the group may be mothballed.

Till then though, they would keep coming — we need to be on our guard.

Last updated: February 18, 2019 | 11:26
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