No evidence to prove India aiding Pak rebels: US think tank

Lalit K Jha

Washington, May 27 (PTI) There is no evidence to
substantiate Pakistan's claims that India is supporting Baloch
rebels, a US think tank has observed, cautioning that New
Delhi might consider this option if Islamabad fails to act
against LeT, responsible for the Mumbai terror attack.

Over the past five years, Pakistan has accused India of
aiding Baloch insurgent groups through its consulates in
Afghanistan, but has not provided any evidence, Center for
International Policy, a Washington-based think tank observed
in its report.

The report, "Pakistan: The State of the Union,"
concluded that Pakistan's charges have lacked credibility as
Baloch rebels have fought with ineffectual small arms.

"They say this weaponry has been purchased on the
black-market, with funding from Baloch compatriots in Dubai
and other Persian Gulf states.

"Should India in fact, decide to give the Baloch
large-scale sophisticated weaponry, logistic help and funds,
they could rapidly expand their present force of 4,500
fighters drawing on the large number of Baloch educated
unemployed," Selig S Harrison, director, Asia Program of the
think tank said in the report.

India might seriously consider the option of supporting
the separatist Baloch and Sindh movements of Pakistan, if
Islamabad does not take decisive action against LeT, an option
it has resisted so far, it said.

Harrison cautioned Pakistan that of late there has been
an increasing effort on the part of Baloch and Sindh
insurgents to seek military help from India, which New Delhi
has so far avoided.

But this policy of non-interference in Pakistan by India
could change in the future, if Islamabad fails to dismantle
and disarm LeT and other terrorist organisations who have
carried out terrorist attacks inside India, the report said.

"Relations between India and Pakistan have sharply
deteriorated since Mumbai terrorist attacks. As Indian anger
grows, so does the view that India should support Baloch and
Sindhi separatism, either as an alternative to full-scale
military retaliation against Pakistan or as a key part of a
two-front military strategy," the report said.

Until now New Delhi has rejected Baloch and Sindhi
separatists' appeals and the consensus in India has been that
a stable Pakistan is in the Indian interest, it said.

But Indian support for separatists in Pakistan will
grow, Harrison predicted, unless Islamabad disarms
Lashkar-e-Taiba and other jihadis based in Pakistan.

"As an alternative, it would avoid the risk of a direct
military encounter that could escalate to the nuclear level
and lead to an exodus of foreign investment.

"As part of a two-front strategy, Indian support for
Baloch and Sindhi insurgents would keep substantial Pakistani
force tied down on the long Sind frontier while others face
Indian forces in Kashmir, or the Punjab, or both," Harrison
said. PTI LKJ
RKM
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