Islamabad: The arrest of an alleged Indian ‘spy’ from Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province may derail the back channel diplomacy between the two countries after claims have been made that National Security Adviser Ajit Doval was his “direct handler”, a media report said today. Pakistan last week arrested Kulbhushan Yadav, the alleged operative of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), from southern Balochistan.
Pakistan Army had also released a “confessional video” of Yadav, who said he was the serving Indian Navy officer. The Express Tribune today reported that the mechanism
involving the national security advisers (NSA) of two countries to discuss security and terrorism related issues is in danger of being scrapped after Doval’s name surfaced in the ongoing controversy.
“Security officials claimed that Yadav’s confessional statement has confirmed the Indian NSA’s role as being the architect of RAW’s current policy of stoking violence in
Pakistan, particularly in Balochistan,” it said.
Military spokesperson Lt Gen Asim Salim Bajwa on Tuesday also claimed that Yadav was being directly handled by Doval. The serious nature of the allegation against Doval has compelled Pakistan to reconsider the arrangement the two neighbours had put in place at the NSA-level talks last year to discuss counter-terrorism issues through back channels, it said.
“Is it appropriate to talk to a person who is directly involved in creating instability in Pakistan?” asked a security official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Scrapping the back channel mechanism between the NSAs could lead to the derailment of the entire peace process, the paper said. India has acknowledged Yadav as a retired Indian Navy officer, but denied the allegation that he was in any way connected to the government.
The paper reported that Pakistan’s powerful military establishment has already conveyed its concerns to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif about the role of Doval. Both Doval and his Pakistani counterpart Lt Gen (retd) Nasser Khan Janjua were instrumental in normalising ties between the two countries.
Recently, the Pakistani NSA even shared crucial intelligence with Doval about the infiltration of some militants into India to carry out terrorist attacks, the report claimed. The two countries are still struggling to fix a date for a key meeting between their foreign secretaries, who were to originally meet in January but the Pathankot terror attack led to the cancellation of talks.
