Over the years the meta narrative in India about origin of 2001 Parliament attack is filled with unidirectional flow of information that want us to believe that it was an operation planned from across the border and executed by terror modules in India. But the recent revelation by one of the former CBI officers that this attack, as also the 2008 infamous carnage in Mumbai, was actually orchestrated by agencies to enable Government to strengthen the counter intelligence laws nails this lie. According to him the attack on parliament was followed by POTA (Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act) and carnage in Mumbai was followed by amendment to the UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) making it more stringent & suitable for dealing with undesired people.
I am not surprised at what the former CBI officer, Mr. Satish Verma has said about the Indian agencies itself behind the twin terror attacks as Covert operations have remained and will continue to remain a controversial instrument of state policy for India in Kashmir vis-à-vis Pakistan. Translated into execution, it allows the Govt. to adopt the smoke screen of plausible deniability, wherein the action itself may be visible and verifiable but its links are concealed, so that it can easily deny any involvement. These operations in India fall within the domain of the intelligence community without the consent and knowledge of political leadership as against USA and other western countries where it has to be mandated by political leadership.
But what is surprising is the total black out of the news by Indian media. There have been no mind-boggling discussions, no hot commentaries, from media-men whom you otherwise, find crying at the top of their voices 24X7 at as mundane issues as opposition to girls music band or killing of a wild beer by people. The likes of Goswamis & Praveen Swamis simply seem to have gone into hiding.
Let us have a look at Indias record of exposed covert operations in Kashmir. It Started with the murder of world renowned cardiac surgeon, Dr. Abdul Ahad Guroo in 1991. This covert operation was conceived by then Director General of Police ,B.S. Bedi by employing a renegade militant, Zulkarnain in the plot. The purpose behind the plot was two fold- one to put the onus on one particular group of militants and promote a group war between them and second to eliminate Dr. Guroo who was doing a wonderful job as a human rights defender particularly at international level. The Govt. succeeded in achieving both the objectives till the operation was revealed by Wajahat Habibullah, former chief information commissioner in 2008 through his book My Kashmir Conflict and the Prospects of Enduring Peace. In any part of the civilized world, even Wajahat Habibullah could be tried for abetting this crime because of his silence on the maxim Qui tacet consentire videtur which means Silence amounts to consent.
The next in the list of covert operations is massacre of 36 innocent Sikhs at Chittisinghpora village in March 2000. The purpose behind this operation, conducted on the eve of the then US President Bill Clintons visit to India, was to malign Kashmir freedom movement. Its perpetrators were revealed through a clear hint by Dr. Farooq Abdullah, the former Chief Minster in his address at an annual convention of the Kashmir Sikh Sangat (KSS) in Jammu on 17th Feberuary 2008 when he said.There were some people who tried to scuttle the Chittisinghpora investigations. Some investigators were even threatened. I want to reveal the conspiracy behind the massacre, but as I am under an oath, I cannot do so. The conclusion is clear that Chittisingpora massacre is an official secret which cannot be disclosed because of compulsions of ministerial oath. It is another thing that this premise is totally unfounded & misconceived as murder of citizens cannot be protected by any oath or understanding.
Yet another covert operation is about killing of five foreign tourists, initially kidnapped by a militant organization, Al-Faran but later purchased & killed by Ikhwanis, a counter insurgent group, working under the supervision, direction & control of Indian security forces. The purpose of this operation was to malign Pakistan at the international level and its details were revealed by two internationally acclaimed investigative journalists, Adrian Levy & Cathy Scott-Clark in their book The Meadows. This book contains a wealth of information about many other dirty games played by various agencies in Kashmir and is a must read for those who are interested in knowing these details
Mention must be made here of another massacre that of 23 innocent Kashmiri Pandits at Wandhama in1998. The story put forth by government about this massacre, allegedly involving militants, contains so many loopholes that if investigated properly by an independent agency, about which many voices have already been raised but ignored, will turn out to be a big covert operation.
Coming specifically to Parliament attack case, One needs to go through Nirmalalangshu Mukherjis book December 13-Terror Over Democracy to know the missing links & some vital unanswered questions in the Parliament attack case. After reading its chapter two titled Who attacked Parliament one is left with little doubt in concluding that it was a big covert operation orchestrated by Indian agencies. It is already in public domain as to how Afzal Guroo was made a sacrificial lamb after a farce investigation, an unfair trial and a perverse judgment.
The author is a practicing chartered Accountant. E Mail: [email protected]
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