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The Inside Story of India's 2016 'Surgical Strikes' against Pakistan-based militants in late-2016.

By Nitin A. Gokhale

The never-before-told details of what went into India’s “surgical strikes” against Pakistan-based militants in late-2016.

The following is an excerpt from Nitin A. Gokhale’s new book, Securing India the Modi Way: Pathankot, Surgical Strikes and More. It is published here with permission from Bloomsbury Publishing India.

For Col H and Col K (names withheld), the moment of reckoning arrived on the afternoon of 18 September 2016. Throughout that morning, the Commanding Officers (COs) of two separate Para (Special Forces) battalions were like most of their colleagues posted in Kashmir Valley, following the increasingly grim news coming out of Uri, the garrison town not very far from Srinagar. Well-trained and well-informed terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) had infiltrated across the Line of Control (LoC) and attacked an administrative camp in the 12 Brigade HQ located in Uri with deadly effect. At least 19 soldiers of 6 Bihar battalion, camping in tents — days before they were to take their assigned positions along the LoC — were killed in the early morning attack. Majority of the soldiers died in their sleep, resting as they were in highly inflammable tents. Although all the four terrorists were neutralised eventually, they had set off a chain of events that would culminate on the morning of 29 September.

In Udhampur, Northern Army Commander Lt Gen DS Hooda was distressed. He had been the GOC-in-C for over two years and witnessed his share of successes and setbacks as the head of India’s most active Army command. Nevertheless, this was possibly the worst moment of his long and distinguished career, spent fighting insurgencies and terrorism in the north-east as well as Jammu & Kashmir. “It was terrible. Very difficult to justify what happened. There were definitely lapses on our part,” Hooda says in retrospect.

But an Army Commander doesn’t have the luxury of wallowing in his own state of mind. He has to set an example by leading from the front. As he accompanied Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh to Uri, Hooda knew the time had come to implement a plan, the seeds of which had vaguely taken shape in his mind some fifteen months ago. Even Gen Dalbir, aware of how the Prime Minister’s mind worked, was thinking of something different.

Gen Dalbir was drawing on his experience during the cross-border raid in Myanmar more than a year previously when the PM had quietly authorised the strike against north-east militants holed up in the jungles of Manipur-Myanmar border after killing 18 Indian soldiers. Gen Dalbir had a hunch then that the Prime Minister may demand a Myanmar-like action if push came to shove in J&K. Cut to mid-June in 2015. In June 2015, it was under his watch as Army Chief that the soldiers of a Para SF unit of the Indian Army, based in the north-east, had carried out a precise attack on an NSCN (K) camp located inside Myanmar and eliminated at least 60 insurgents in the process. While the cross-border raid inside Myanmar was making waves and dividing opinion (see separate chapter), discussions in TV studios in India centred around the possibility of similar raids against Pakistan. Minister of State of Information & Broadcasting, Rajyavardhan Rathore told TV anchors  that the option of cross-border raids against Pakistan are a possibility. He also told Indian Express in June 2015: “This is a message for all countries, including Pakistan, and groups harbouring terror intent towards India. A terrorist is a terrorist and has no other identity. We will strike when we want to.”

The success of Myanmar operations had planted the seed of thought about a surgical strike in Pakistan in everyone’s mind. Once during his visit to the Northern Command, then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar too had exhorted top commanders to be prepared for every eventuality. “Although I didn’t spell it out explicitly, I knew some day a grave provocation by Pakistan may require a Myanmar-like operation. So I told the Army Chief and his senior commanders to look at every possible response,” Parrikar recalls. On his part, Lt Gen Hooda called the two COs (Col H and Col K) and told them that they needed to start looking at targets across the LoC, although frankly at that point in time (June 2015) neither Gen Dalbir, nor Lt Gen Hooda or the political leadership would have thought of such an eventuality arising. Till then, the thinking at the highest levels of India’s political and military leadership was any major trans-LoC strike would be deemed escalatory. Remember, in Kargil, the Vajpayee government had imposed the strict restriction of NOT crossing the LoC in spite of a grave provocation.

“I thought to myself, if tomorrow someone asks us to go, how can I, as Northern Army Commander say we are not prepared?” Hooda remembers thinking. Gen Dalbir says: “From my experience in planning and executing the Myanmar raids, I wanted my commanders to make sure that any cross-border raid should be carried out with minimum casualties. My instructions were, not one single soldier should be left behind in enemy territory even if we suffered any setback.” Hence, in the immediate aftermath of the Myanmar operation, the two COs were told to seriously plan to hit targets inside PoK. Other senior officers in Northern Command’s planning staff also held discussions a couple of times with the MO (Military Operations Directorate at the Army HQ). They identified targets, looking for more intelligence inputs on them, and consolidating a thought process in the presence of the Army Chief and the Northern Army Commander.

But were not cross-border raids carried out earlier too, I asked Gen Dalbir. “Yes, they were,” he agreed “but most actions taken in our younger days were, what we call, BAT (Border Action Team) raids on specific post(s) as retribution for something that the Pakistan Army troops would have carried out on our position(s),” he said. “What we were now planning for was much larger with greater ramifications,”  he explained.

For two months in the winter of 2015, the two battalions trained as whole units after years of operating in small, agile teams against terrorists in J&K. This training was to prove crucial in sharpening the set of skills needed for raids across the LoC.

In a way, it was like revisiting their basic tenets for the Special Forces men. And they loved it. Although no one could have anticipated that they would be called in to strike across the LoC, the very thought of crossing a line that was seen as taboo motivated the troops further. Indeed for over two decades no one at the highest political level had ever expressed willingness to sanction, or had demanded such an action inside PoK for the fear of escalation. “The two to two-and-a-half months that these boys spent together helped them hone their skills in surveying targets, mount surveillance, practising infiltration and exfiltration, which in the final analysis helped them achieve what was asked of them,” a senior officer in MO Directorate, privy to the development now agrees, looking back at that decision. As a result of the reorientation, by the time the summer of 2016 arrived, the two battalions had added an extra edge to their repertory of formidable skills. However, no one—not even the most imaginative scriptwriter in Bollywood — could have anticipated the events as they unfolded in September 2016.

Across the board, the langar gup (mess gossip) was full of frustration and rage. I remember speaking to some middle level officers posted in J&K in the immediate aftermath of the Uri incident. The anger was palpable. “If this is not the last straw, what is,” many of them wondered aloud when the possibility of the Indian army’s retaliation was discussed. NSA Doval too remembers Prime Minister Modi telling him: “This attack should not go without a response.” Gen Dalbir adds: “During one of the meetings in the immediate aftermath of Uri, the Prime Minister said the retaliation should be immediate to send an unambiguous message.” Parrikar, Doval and Gen Dalbir however knew they had to plan for several contingencies before attempting a Myanmar-style cross-border raid. For one, unlike on the Myanmar border, the Pakistani forces strung all along the LoC were on highest alert in the wake of the Uri attack. The terrorists would have also been told to lie low and shifted to camps located farther away from the LoC so that hitting those targets would have become harder. Moreover, no matter how remote the possibility, India had to wargame the likely escalation by Pakistan if retribution was ordered.

The Pressure Builds Up

The week of the Uri attack was also a testing time for the Prime Minister’s leadership. Modi, adept at judging the public mood, was aware that people expected him to “walk the talk” in acting tough against India’s implacable enemy. Public opinion in the country was inflamed. People were calling for an all-out war against Pakistan. Even saner voices were advocating at least some demonstrable retribution. Modi was aware of the public sentiment and the anger that was building up in popular perception. He vowed immediate retribution. “I assure the nation that those behind this despicable attack will not go unpunished,” he tweeted on the day of the Uri attack. Not many people took the statement at face value. After all, politicians and prime ministers in the past had pledged stern action against terrorists and their handlers many times, but had ultimately refrained from giving that final go ahead required to retaliate, urging restraint instead.

Amidst all the criticism, the Prime Minister continued to be unruffled. Recall his aides: “The PM went through with his daily routine and pre-scheduled appointments and programmes without any change, but made sure he had all possible options presented to him before giving the final go ahead (for a punitive strike against Pakistan).” All options, economic, political, and diplomatic were considered. They ranged from downgrading diplomatic ties, revisiting the provisions of the Indus Water Treaty, mobilising international opinion by furnishing proof of Pakistan’s complicity in terrorist attacks, and of course punish Pakistan militarily. But he was not about to be rushed into any hasty decision. The Prime Minister however made up his mind by 23 September, five days after the Uri attack. Later that evening, he and Doval, escorted by a Major General from the MO Directorate, walked the length of the South Block Corridor from the PMO to the Army HQ Ops room around 2100 hours, much long after the corridors had been emptied and offices had closed. Already present in the room were Defence Minister Parrikar, Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh, DGMO, Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, and a couple of MO Directorate senior functionaries. The PM sat through the briefing silently, listening with rapt attention. He was presented various options, shown targets that were planned to be hit inside PoK, and briefed on the possible retaliation/ reaction by Pakistan. Once the initial briefing was over, Modi had a couple of questions on other possible options like a precise air strike on terrorist camps, remembers a participant. Eventually, the Prime Minister agreed that a Special Forces raid across the frontier was the best possible course of action at that point, the participant added.

As one week passed after the Uri attack, the debates tapered off; people seemed resigned to live with the bitter fact that the situation in J&K and on the LoC would continue to be volatile with the Indian army unable to take any deterrent steps. Little did anyone know that India was about to unleash unprecedented and audacious cross-border strikes.

Once the political call was taken, the wheels began to move faster. In Udhampur, the Ops room was buzzing with activity. Now was the time to bring the two Corps Commanders of 15 and 16 Corps in the loop.

Accordingly, Lt Gens Satish Dua and RR Nimborhkar, heading the Srinagar-based Chinar and Nagrota-based White Knight Corps respectively, were also brought on board.

Col H and Col K meanwhile were back to their respective bases. They had much to do. Both had finalised the targets, but the men had to be selected for different tasks, although in their mind they had already earmarked some key personnel the previous winter when the entire units were training together.

As Col H remembers, “Most of our reorientation took place in the mind; we were crossing a threshold that had been embedded in the mind: thus far and no further. Now we were being asked to do a job that had not been undertaken in decades.” Adds Col K: “Our boys always had the skills, but they had applied the skills to a different set of circumstances, not the task we were about to undertake. However, due to our practice and reorientation, they were at the peak of their skills.” They were, like many Indian Army Officers before them posted along the LoC, aware of one-off, shallow raids launched by different infantry units into PoK. But all of them were individual punitive actions and not large-scale planned operations like the one that was being contemplated now.

The tasks were diverse. Teams had to be formed accordingly. Over the past quarter century, the Indian Army had created a strong network of intelligence operatives in the valley and within various tanzeems based in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK). Post the Uri attack and around the time when the surgical strike was being finalised, Northern Command tapped a couple of sources in Hizbul Mujahideen, located in the general area of Anantnag, to obtain more information about the layout of Pakistani camps, and the possible routes that could be taken both to enter and exit PoK. These inputs were crucial to plan strategy and form teams for different tasks like mounting secret surveillance, raid the camps, and for guiding the troops back safely. They also had to do last minute rechecking of targets to make sure that the terrorists were still holed up there and launch pads were not emptied out after the Uri attack.

So what were the thoughts that were going through their minds as they prepared to launch the strikes, I asked the two Commanding Officers.

Looking back, with a quiet sense of pride in their eyes, both the officers recalled their state of mind: “We knew we had to hit the adversary so hard that he would be humiliated. There was no time for half-measures, no place for token gestures,” recounted Col K. His colleague added: “This is what we train for: That one chance to deliver a blow so lethal that the enemy will constantly think about it when planning any misadventure.”

Accordingly, the COs were told that the intent of the cross-border strikes was two-fold: inducing fear and extracting revenge. Simultaneously, total destruction of terrorist infrastructure directly opposite Uri was planned so that those who had launched the attack on 18 September would get the right message. “The idea was to let them know that we know where you are based and where you launch your attacks from and more importantly, we know where to hit you.

The message had to go up to Muzzafarabad (the capital of PoK),” Col H said, reflecting upon the week in the run up to the actual operation.

The wait was now getting shorter. It was finally over on 28 September.

That afternoon, Lt Gen Hooda signalled the launch of Operation X when he called both Col H and Col K. Separately, he wished them a simple “good luck” and told them to go ahead and complete the assigned task.

Teams surged forward by late evening, poised on the edge of the LoC, ready to cross over later that night.

Back in Delhi, Gen Dalbir briefed NSA Doval about the mission plan and worked out a mechanism to update him as and when he received inputs from the ground.

“The die was cast now. The onus was on the Army that I was leading to deliver. But I was confident of our success,” Gen Dalbir recalls. Parrikar, meanwhile, was separately briefed about the roll-out of the action plan by the Army Chief.

OPERATION X

28-29 September 2016, J&K

From here onward, teams led by Col K and Col H were on their own. All of it depended on their skills, daring, ingenuity, and above all, determination to succeed in whether they would accomplish the task assigned to them.

There was no looking back now.

The operation, called Operation X in conversation but not officially named as such, was being monitored at Army HQ in Delhi, at the Northern Command HQ in Udhampur, and at Nagrota and Srinagar, the HQs of 16 and 15 Corps respectively.

As Prime Time television debates across different news channels were just about winding down, Col K’s teams were making their way to the LoC. Col K, assigned to target camps south of the Pir Panjal range, led his teams across the LoC around midnight. In four hours, they were in close proximity of the objectives. Having bypassed some of the outposts close to the LoC on the Pakistani side, the teams were now truly behind enemy lines.

Barring one minor injury, Operation X had gone off with clockwork precision. Complete surprise was achieved, resulting in the higher fatalities in the camps-cum-launch pads of the Pakistanis. It also validated many conceptual plans made over the years for trans-LoC operations.

So what was the death count? I asked the two COs.

Both were candid, admitting they didn’t stop to count the dead. “That was neither our remit nor the objective of the strike. We had been given a job to destroy selected targets to send a message. In light of which we performed to the best of our abilities. We can’t give you exact figures. No one can, but what we saw with our eyes in those moments, tells us that we would have accounted for at least 70–75 fellows combined,” both Col K and H tell me. Later that day, radio chatter from across the LoC reportedly confirmed at least 80 fatalities in the camps that were hit by Indian Special Forces.

We Made IITs, Pakistan Made Lashkar, Says Sushma Swaraj At UN: 10 Points

By Aloke Tikku

Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj lashed out at Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi for his accusations against India in her speech at the United Nations General Assembly.

In a takedown of Pakistan for its non-stop support to terrorism, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj today dismissed Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi's accusations of violating human rights, telling the United Nations General Assembly, "Look who is talking". "We are completely engaged in fighting poverty; alas our neighbour Pakistan seems only engaged in fighting us," Ms Swaraj said in a hard-hitting speech that took swipes at Islamabad for exporting terror that kills hundreds of people. Ms Swaraj also asked Pakistani leaders to introspect, reminding them that though both countries became independent at the same time, India is globally known as an IT superpower, and Pakistan, "as the pre-eminent export factory for terror".

Here are the top 10 points of Sushma Swaraj's speech

"We set up IITs, IIMs, AIIMS and ISRO. What did Pakistan make? They set up Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Haqqani Network, Hizbul Mujahiddeen," said Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, who addressed the gathering of leaders from 193 countries for the second consecutive year. She spoke in Hindi.

Naming the Pakistan PM twice in her 21-minute speech, Ms Swaraj told the UN meet where reproaches of other leaders are generally less personal, that a country that has been the world's greatest exporter of havoc, death and inhumanity had become a champion of hypocrisy by preaching about humanity from this podium. The jibe was aimed at Pakistan Prime Minister, who had devoted much of his first address to accusing India of, what he called, was terror against Islamabad and "war crimes" in Kashmir.

Sushma Swaraj also spoke about climate change and UN reforms. But before she outlined India's vision on these points, she took Pakistan to task for its support to terror.

She had a word of advice for Pakistani politicians as well. "If Pakistan had spent on its development what it has spent on developing terror, both Pakistan and the world would be safer and better-off today," she said to a loud applause at the UNGA.

Turning to world leaders at the UN meet, Ms Swaraj wondered how the world could fight terror together if there was no agreement on who the enemy was. If even the United Nations Security Council cannot agree on the listing of terrorists, how can we fight together?" she said, an oblique reference to China blocking India's request to blacklist Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar.

Complimenting Ms Swaraj for delivering a "strong message" on the dangers of terrorism at the world meet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described it an "incredible" and "insightful" speech. "She has made India extremely proud at the world stage," PM Modi tweeted. The Foreign Minister also reminded the world leaders to start reviewing the progress made in the 2030 sustainable development agenda decided in 2015. "If complacency defines the next 13 years, then we are in danger of losing control. We need a sense of urgency as well as unshakeable fortitude to take decisions that can avert catastrophe," she said.

India had set the tone for Ms Swaraj's response when India exercised its right of reply to PM Abbasi's speech that caustically described Pakistan as a country whose counter-terrorism policy was to "mainstream and upstream terrorists" by either providing safe havens to terror leaders in its military town or protecting them with political careers -- a reference to Osama bin Laden. India has called Pakistan a geography synonymous with terror, Terroristan, or 'the land of pure terror', which had a flourishing industry producing and exporting global terrorism.

Sushma Swaraj had earlier asked the BRICS grouping comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to condemn efforts, including by states, of using religion to sponsor terrorism against other nations.

Pakistan - Losing international arbitration

Another setback awaits the country as an international arbitration court has ruled that the government engaged in an act of ‘expropriation’ against the assets of a foreign investor when the Supreme Court took action against Karkey Karadeniz, the Turkish firm that was contracted to set up a rental power plant by the previous government.

Reportedly, the damages that have been awarded by the court are around $700m; some reports say the amount is much higher while the government insists it is much lower without disclosing the actual figure. In fact, the attorney general’s office has gone out of its way to veil the adverse award in silence, giving its first pronouncement on it only when the matter was in the news.

Whatever the size of the award, it is fair to assume that it will be substantial. And this judgement is likely to be followed up by another, even larger, award in the Reko Diq case which is also winding its way through the arbitration process of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, the World Bank arm that gave the Karkey award.

It is still likely that Karkey will settle out of court rather than go through the arduous process of recovery. Nevertheless, the award should be a jolt to all those who seek to interfere in the country’s international commitments. For many years now, the global community has been tightening the protections that foreign investors can avail themselves of through arbitrary actions. Toying with the stakes acquired by foreign investors must be avoided.

Pakistan’s domestic politics is famously turbulent, and the first question any foreign investor asks is whether the present government will be in a position to deliver on the commitments it has entered into, and what is the likelihood that whoever comes into power next will try to reverse or otherwise alter the contractual terms governing long-term investments. Potential investors in the LNG sector, to take one example, are asking themselves exactly these questions as they consider entering into a long-term supply contract with Pakistan.

The political parties need to come to an understanding that they will keep foreign investors out of their own disputes. More importantly, the judicial community needs to understand that tampering with the understandings underpinning long-term foreign investments in the country carries enormous risks and costs, and can backfire resulting in a severely detrimental impact on the country.

One cannot emphasise enough the importance of treating investments, whether foreign or domestic, with due care, both at the time of signing and when delivering on the deal. There must be a limit to how far people are willing to go to settle scores arising from domestic politics. Otherwise, the country stands to pay a huge price, and nobody wins.

Pakistan - The gathering clouds

Afrasiab Khattak

Uncertainty about the future of constitutional system is growing as the current civilian setup appears to be losing control over both the external and internal dimensions of the governance in Pakistan.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, the newly installed Prime Minister who seemed to be quite serious in doing not only the basics in institutional functioning but was also quick in reaching out to other elements in the system has discovered the narrow limits of his power. So those who blamed Nawaz Sharif’s personalized style of governance being responsible for generating the present crises can see that the deep state would defy constitutional control whatever is the governance style of the sitting Chief Executive may be.

The veneer of civilian control was dramatically exposed over forming a national response to the deepening international isolation of the country over tackling the challenge of extremism and terrorism in the country. On August 21 President Donald Trump delivered a policy speech laying out the new US policy regarding conflict in Afghanistan and South Asia not only blamed Pakistan for providing sanctuaries to Afghan Taliban for fighting war against the Afghan state but he also threatened to take punitive measures against Pakistan if the later doesn’t change the aforementioned policy. Then came the 9th BRICS annual summit on September 3-5 in the Chinese city Xiamen.

The Summit Declaration expressed concern over the activities of Pakistan based major terrorist networks including Taliban, LeT, JuM and others and demanded action against them. The said Declaration also expressed solidarity with Afghan government which is fighting various terrorist outfits. It was pretty obvious that the country’s isolation on the question of extremism and terrorism is complete.

There emerged diametrically opposed responses to these developments from military and civilian segments of the state. For military it was straight and simple; Pakistan has already done enough against extremism and terrorism. It is for the world to do more.

It wasn’t that simple for the civilian set up though.

Had it been only US they might have gone with the military’s line.

But when it comes to telling the world, which includes China and Russia and many others, the narrative has to be more sophisticated and convincing. So it started with the statement of Khwaja Asif, the Foreign Minister of the country. After explaining the details of Pakistan’s struggle and sacrifices in fighting terrorism he in the end conceded the need for “cleaning our house”.

The position immediately came under attack from Nisar Ali Khan, the former Interior Minister and a leader of Pakistan Muslim League –Nawaz (PML-N) who is well known for his close relations with the security establishment. The present Interior Minister, Defense Minister and even the Prime Minister upheld the position adopted by the Foreign Minister. The open civil-military division on this issue has certainly not helped Prime Minister Khaqan Abbasi to look credible during his visit to US for participation in the UN General Assembly session.

As if this wasn’t enough the death of an important Afghan Taliban leader in the most recent drone US strike in Kurram Agency has belied the persistent denials of civilian and military leadership of Pakistan about the presence of Afghan Taliban leadership in Pakistan.

Internally the siege of civilian setup is augmented with the fresh onslaught of judicial action against it. NAB courts are zeroing in on Sharif family.

Even the new PM can be a possible target.

But on the other hand, acquittal of hard core terrorists in Benazir Bhutto murder case, the zero progress in investigation of hundreds of offshore companies other than those of Nawaz Sharif and the totally passive attitude of higher judiciary at Musharraf’s escape from the trail in high treason and other cases exposes the method in this judicial madness. The ruling party is desperately trying to make it to the coming Senate election to be held in March and then proceed to hold the next general elections.

That is exactly what the deep state and its political cheerleaders wouldn’t let them accomplish. The recent complaints of enforced disappearances of PML-N loyalists in Lahore shows that the deep state is prepared to go to any extent for keeping Nawaz Sharif out of not only power but also out of politics. But the result of the bye election in Lahore has demonstrated the ability of Nawaz Sharif to attract votes in the core province of Punjab. His daughter Mariam Nawaz undeterred by the strong arm tactics of the deep state has emerged as a strong political leader challenging the dead wood in the party.

But most serious aspect of the aforementioned bye election is the “mainstreaming “ of the known militant and proscribed outfits.

Instead of curbing extremist violence it is being promoted in politics. In late 1970s the deep state introduced sectarian and ethnic divisions to weaken ZA Bhutto’s Peoples Party. Building on the same strategy, and oblivious to national and international concerns, dangerous extremism is being “mainstreamed” to weaken Nawaz Sharif.

It will definitely lead to further atomization of Pakistani society. Situation on this front is already quite bleak. The political engineering by the deep state doesn’t allow the emergence of strong political parties which are important for the project of nation building and state building. Federal political parties disintegrate into provincial entities under state pressure. Deepening religious extremism and sectarianism is definitely not good news.

The worsening civil-military polarization is not only defining the internal political situation of the country but it will also determine its international standing.

Refusal to act against notorious factories of extremism and terror networks will push the country towards further isolation. Pakistan it seems is going to give serious competition to North Korea in getting itself isolated. But it will not be without serious consequences for the future.

SMBB’s murder & Musharraf – the outcast – Pejamistri

After almost 10 years, military’s establishment felt itself as strong as ever and decided to rub the salt on the wounds of the terror victims by declaring the verdict in Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s murder. The verdict is not just a joke, it is actually designed to dense the existing smoke screen to hide the real culprits of SMBB’s murderers.

Over the years I have not only maintained but proven by examples that there are two groups of establishment’s paid touts in not only Pakistani media but in BBC, CNN and other media outlets. The commercial liberal group and the right wing extremist group. While the right wing extremist group is visible, the commercial liberal group is also not difficult to identify, their love for Saudi Wahabi Islam, selective criticism of Pakistan military generals and their hatred for the non deobandi/wahabi Islam makes them obvious. But this is just as a background on how the media is playing on the SMBB’s verdict.

The right wing extremists group in media likes of Ansar Abbasi, Orya Maqbool, Hamid Mir etc. create the noise on how Asif Zardari is the murderer of his beloved wife. Their strategy is two pronged first provide the cover to real culprits and at the same time malign PPP and Bhutto family.

On the other hand commercial liberal mafia group’s strategy is multi-pronged and much more sinister. The commercial liberal group consisting of the people like Nusrat Javed, Imtiaz Alam, Marvi Sirmid etc. hand in hand with their paymaster Pakistan’s ISI devise a highly effective strategy to achieve multiple goals.
First of all, let me explain my personal point of view about Musharraf so that it does not cause any confusion. I consider Pervez Musharraf as the mad dictator of Pakistan who caused like many other dictators before him irreparable damage to Pakistan. His crimes against people of Pakistan are too many not to mention his Kargil adventure and then naked aggression against people of Pakistan by overthrowing democracy. But Pervez Musharraf has no comparison with many other dictators and military generals who came before and after him. Those who try to put him at par with the likes of General Zia-ul-Haq are suffering from acute lack of proportion syndrome (ALSPS), but I am not.

Pakistan’s commercial liberal mafia, uses Pervez Musharraf as the scapegoat for the murder of SMBB. I must say few words on this. The fact of the matter is after 2006 Musharraf had become an outcast in the army. Just like Pakistan people are divided into groups Deobandi/Wahabi and Others. Similarly Pakistan military is also divided on the same lines. While the non-deobandi/wahabi generals commit the same or similar crimes against people of Pakistan but they do so due to their personal greed and ambitions as Pervez Musharraf did in Kargil and later in 1999. On the other hand Deobandi/Wahabi generals commit heinous crimes not only against people of Pakistan but against humanity on the basis of their religious beliefs. Musharraf had become an outcast in his group after he started going against them by removing Dr. Abdul Qadeer, providing vital information to NATO/US forces and even speaking to Benazir Bhutto for a potential deal (the so-called NRO which later-on was used by military mafia to malign Bhuttos. This campaign against NRO is run even now just because the Deobandi group (lead by Kyani at that time was dead against any deal with SMBB). By 2007, Kyani had devised a complete strategy to oust Musharraf. The clown Iftikhar Chaudhary was used to create the required movement against Musharraf.

As I said Musharraf was no saint, he was a mad dictator. SMBB and any other democratic leader would want him to quit, provided he hands over the power to elected people. It is for that purpose SMBB was not only willing to negotiate with him but also launch the campaign against him so that he is weakened.

The commercial liberal mafia group of Pakistan tries to blow out of proportion the role of Musharraf in SMBB’s murder. There is no doubt that Musharraf would have been privy to many secrets and information regarding SMBB’s murder. But truth is he is just one of the many and as an outcast in the army at that time he probably had much less say then any other general.

I also claim that the day the whole conspiracy to murder SMBB comes to light, that day will be the day when world celebrates their victory against Islamic terrorism. The order of SMBB’s murder did not come from an outcast from military. SMBB was such an iconic leader that her murder order was given directly by the Islamic terrorism mafia leaders consisting of Saudi Arabia, Taliban, Pakistan military generals and other Deobandi/Wahabi extremist groups spread across the whole world including US, Europe and Asia. The day this conspiracy is unearthed we shall know all the names of these people who approved the murder of SMBB which will contain many surprising names, but that day will only come when world has eradicated the Islamic terrorism for good.

https://lubpak.com/archives/353152

Pakistan - Musharraf, his cronies behind BB's murder: Aseefa Bhutto

Aseefa Bhutto Zardari has lashed out at former president Pervez Musharraf for accusing Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari of being involved in the assassination of Benazir and Murtaza Bhutto and dubbed the former military ruler "murderer".

"Let me state this quite clearly. Musharraf and his lapdog cronies in the establishment and the army are responsible for BBs murder," Aseefa tweeted on Friday.

 She said that Musharraf was behind the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and now he was blaming the victim.She also criticized the media houses for giving "undue" coverage to Musharraf. 

"Disgusted & appalled by media houses that are giving attention to this murderer, who ran away," Aseefa stated in another tweet.

http://dailytimes.com.pk/sindh/23-Sep-17/musharraf-his-cronies-behind-bbs-murder-aseefa-bhutto

Pakistan - Musharraf should face courts if he is brave

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has said General Pervez Musharraf should return to Pakistan and face the courts if he is really a brave person, Geo News reported on Friday.

He was responding to questions about the allegations, levelled by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, in Kamalia, a city in district Toba Tek Singh, on Friday. "He (Musharraf) should appear before courts," Zardari remarked.

The PPP leader questioned why clips of Musharraf dancing in disco clubs were circulating if he really had gone abroad to seek treatment for his backache. He wondered that he (Musharraf) was doing disco dance despite his backache.

Reacting to allegations about Murtaza Bhutto murder, Zardari claimed that the murder of Murtaza was a conspiracy to topple the government of Benazir Bhutto, who was the prime minister of Pakistan at that time. Zardari said Benazir Bhutto had said that one Bhutto was murdered to topple the government of another Bhutto. "Politics of the past was based on levelling allegations against political opponents," Zardari added.

The PPP leader also criticised his political opponents, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan. He remarked: "Nawaz does not know the art of governance. Nothing is achieved by building roads."

About Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, who is being probed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) currently, he said that Dar had fled the country. The PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira said: “We condemn the false allegations levelled by Musharraf.” Referring to the party’s recent defeat in NA-120 by-poll, the PPP leader said it was an alarming situation for the party. “Bilawal is with the people and he is holding public gatherings and rallies across the country,” said Kaira while responding to a question. Arif Ghias adds: Asif Ali Zardari visited Kamalia on Friday for condoling the death of Khalid Ahmad Kharal with his son, Haider Khan Kharal. He said the PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had failed to develop the province during its four-year rule.

Former federal minister for interior Faisal Saleh Hayat, ex-minister of state for textile Rana Muhammad Farooq and ex-National Assembly deputy speaker Nawaz Khokhar were also present on the occasion.

Asim Yasin adds: PPP spokesman Senator Farhatullah Babar challenged Musharraf to be a man and return to the country and face in the courts the charges of complicity in the murder of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto as well as the charges of high treason. He said Musharraf had been unnerved by the admission by the LHC Rawalpindi Bench on Thursday of Asif Zardari's three appeals, one of which seeks death penalty for Musharraf for murdering Benazir Bhutto.

“As the PPP was not allowed to become a party to the case thus far, Musharraf liked to imagine that his crime will never be exposed and he will escape retribution,” he said, and added that the August 31 verdict of the Rawalpindi Anti-Terrorism Court opened the shut doors for Zardari to enter into the field as an aggrieved party and chase Musharraf to bring him to justice.

Farhatullah Babar said the Anti-Terrorism Court verdict declared Musharraf as absconder and separated his case. “Zardari's appeal to set aside the ATC order of May 8 and judgment of August 31 has been admitted for hearing by the LHC,” he said. Farhatullah Babar said Musharraf knows well as to what it means to be chased by law and by Zardari. “This explains why the dictator who prided himself to be a commando is so shaken and unnerved,” he said. The PPP spokesman said Musharraf's warnings to Benazir Bhutto that she would risk her life if she returned to Pakistan ahead of the 2008 elections and his refusal to provide her security are already well documented and need no elaboration. “Musharraf's patronage of the extremists is also well known. While in office he sought to fool the world with his claims of 'enlightened moderation', but when out of office he admitted to having aided the Taliban,” Babar said.

He said Musharraf knows that sooner or later as the long arms of the law will reach him and he will no longer be able to seek refuge in a hospital in Rawalpindi. Meanwhile, former interior minister and PPP senior leader Senator Rehman Malik said Musharraf’s statement against Asif Zardari is a pack of lies as he is making baseless allegations to wriggle himself out of murder case of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto.

"Mere levelling false allegations will not help Musharraf till he doesn't dare to appear before the court of law and go through trial,” he said in a statement. Rehman Malik said if Musharraf thinks he is innocent then why he is escaping the courts. He said Musharraf will get befitting response from him based on hard facts duly sustained with evidences as soon he returns to Pakistan.

Rehman Malik denied that he left Liaquat Bagh in his car after the unfortunate blast that took Benazir Bhutto's life. He added that he was asked by his fellows to sit with them in Farhatullah Babar's car in which Farhatullah Babar, Babar Awan and General (R) Touqeer were sitting.

Video - Bilawal Bhutto spacial message On Muharram

خورشید شاہ کی پرویز مشرف پر شدید تنقید

قومی اسمبلی میں قائد حزب اختلاف سید خورشید شاہ کا کہنا ہےکہ جنرل (ر) پرویز مشرف اتنے شیر ہیں تو بینظیر کی طرح پاکستان آئیں اور یہاں رہ کر مقابلہ کریں۔سکھر میں منعقدہ تقریب سے خطاب کرتے ہوئے خورشید شاہ نے بے نظیر کے قتل سے متعلق آصف زرداری پر الزام لگانے پر سابق صدر پرویز مشرف کو شدید تنقید کا نشانہ بنایا۔انہوں نے کہا کہ مشرف 10 سال خاموش تھے اب تیس مار خان بن گئے ہیں، وہ اتنے شیر ہیں تو پاکستان آئیں، ہماری طرح یہاں رہیں اور مقابلہ کریں، بے نظیر کی طرح ملک واپس آئیں، بھٹو کی طرح سیاست کریں اور آصف زرداری کی طرح جیل کاٹیں، تب پتا چلے گا کون شیر اور کون بکری ہے۔اپوزیشن لیڈر کا کہنا تھا کہ مشرف بے نظیر سے ڈرتے تھے، گھبراتے تھے اور ملک نہیں آنے نہیں دیتے تھے لیکن ہم نے ماضی میں سب کچھ کرکے دکھایا، دہشت گردی کے سامنے جان دی اور دیں گے۔انہوں نے کہا کہ ہماری شہادت کبھی بیرون ملک بیٹھ کر نہیں ہوئی، ہم بیرون ملک میں بیٹھ کر شیر نہیں بنتے،ہم بیرون ملک نہیں بھاگتے، جنہیں موت اور جیل کا ڈر ہو وہ کبھی عوام کی نمائندگی نہیں کرسکتے۔خورشید شاہ کا کہنا تھا کہ پاکستان مسئلوں کا بہت بڑا انبار نظر آتا ہے، ہرطرف سے کوئی نہ کوئی مسئلہ اٹھایا جارہا ہے، پارلیمنٹ اور اداروں میں ٹکراؤ کی کوشش کی جارہی ہے، ملک کے حالات اچھے نہیں، اداروں کا ٹکراؤ ہوچکا ہے، پارلیمنٹ کو کمزور کرنے والا پاکستان سے سنجیدہ نہیں۔انہوں نے مزید کہا کہ ہم عوام کے ووٹ کے تقدس کا لحاظ چاہتے ہیں، پاکستان کے عوام کو فیصلہ خود کرنے کا حق دیا جائے کیونکہ ملک میں خوشحالی تب ہوگی جب عوام فیصلہ کریں گے۔اپوزیشن لیڈر نے یہ بھی کہا کہ نظام کو بچانا ہے تو قربانیاں دینا پڑتی ہیں، گالم گلوچ سے نظام نہیں چلتا، ہمیں بھی گالیاں دینا آتی ہیں مگر ہم جمہوری لوگ ہیں لہٰذا ملک میں عوام کے حقوق کی سیاست کی جائے۔

https://jang.com.pk/latest/379626-khursheed-shah-castigates-pervaiz-musharraf