Whether known or unknown to India, Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has opened a new front in India's southern military and strategic sphere. Pakistan's lack of success in promoting terrorism in Kashmir leading to the dwindling of its sponsored jihadi groups and the reduction of its influence in Afghanistan have prompted Pakistan to find new ways to check the regional influence of India. For some time, the on-going civil war in Sri Lanka has provided a perfect opportunity for Pakistan to expand its ISI by not only selling arms and ammunition to the beleaguered Sri Lankan government, but also undertaking the nefarious exercises of training and arming some Tamil Muslim groups in the eastern part of Sri Lanka.

Pakistan's role in Sri Lanka would not have come to attention of military analysts had not for the alleged attempt by the LTTE to assassinate its envoy Col (retd) Bashir Wali, Pakistan's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka on August 14, 2006, in Colombo. While Bashir escaped the bomb blast, seven persons including four special commandos escorting Bashir in a military convoy were killed. Following the attack, Bashir returned to Pakistan. It is rumored that another ISI official would replace Bashir and continue to support the war efforts of the Sri Lanka government.

The attempt to assassinate Bashir take places in the context of the recent outbreak of civil war between the LTTE and the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL). Few months before the bomb blast, Sri Lanka received two shipments of arms and ammunitions from the Pakistan government to be used against the LTTE. Since India refused to sell arms to Sri Lanka because of the possibility that they might be used against innocent Tamils, Sri Lanka requested Pakistan to deliver arms including armed vehicles, tanks, transport planes and flight simulators and others. Pakistan immediately capitalized on this request and immediately dispatched the items to Sri Lanka.

Bashir during his two years in office in Colombo strengthened the military and intelligence ties between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. More than this, during his stay ISI played an important role in promoting terrorist activities through Al Ummah in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. He was the former active member of Tablighi Jamaat that operated as a cover organization for Pakistan jihadi groups at the global level. There is enough evidence to indicate that during his stay in Colombo it was he who sent a number of Tamil Muslims from the eastern provinces of Sri Lanka to study in Binori Madrasas in Pakistan. It was on the advice and guidance provided by the Pakistani intelligence agents in Sri Lanka that prompted the Sri Lankan establishment to establish a Muslim Regiment in the east, primarily to neutralize the activities of the LTTE.

The brutality of the Sri Lanka armed forces towards innocent Tamils in the north and the east does not happen in a vacuum. The indiscriminate bombings and callous disregard for innocent lives is as result of the counter-insurgency intelligence advice given by Pakistan air force and military experts. Apparently some of these experts gained experience in fighting the Baluchi freedom fighters. To date, Pakistan has provided military hardware worth more than US$60 million. More military hardware is supposed to flow into Sri Lankan as the government plans a genocidal warfare against the Tamil population. Indian being too pre-occupied with denting the influence of LTTE seems oblivious to the sinister and dangerous development to its security in the southern corridor as a result of the activities of Pakistan. Pakistan obviously enjoys a great rapport with the Sinhalese government and it is rumored that Pakistani intelligence operatives are making their presence increasingly felt. For the right-wing and hawkish Sinhala groups, the presence of Pakistan is welcome as it would not only provide a counter-weight to shake off India's hegemonic presence and at the same time provide a powerful counter-weight to the territorial claims of the LTTE.

India's pre-occupation with thwarting the efforts of the LTTE has laid the grounds for the Pakistan to challenge and neutralize India in the southern region. Important geo-political strategic re-thinking is called for India to re-assert its role vis-à-vis the Sri Lankan situation. However, mechanical re-assertion like that happened during the time of Rajiv Gandhi should be abandoned. Alternatively, India has to accommodate the struggle of the Tamil national movement even it means coming to the terms with the LTTE. India should stop punishing the Tamil nationalist movement for its alleged role in the murder of Raji Gandhi. History tells us that when her own Sikh bodyguards assassinated the former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the Sikh community was not collectively punished. When a Hindu fanatic assassinated Mahatma Gandhi, the Brahmin community was not collectively punished. Why should the Tamil community in Sri Lanka have to pay the price for Rajiv Gandhi's assassination? Objective assessment of the Sri Lanka situation in general and the position of the Tamil community requires Indian strategic thinkers to make an objective assessment of the Indian Army during the peace keeping days in Sri Lanka.

Pakistani attempts in league with the Sinhala state establishment to subvert the role of India must be taken seriously. If unchecked, Indian strategic installations in South India stand to be targeted in new terrorist attacks. The LTTE need not be embraced and loved, surely the larger interests of India demands some kind of accommodation with it in the long run to resolve not only the Tamil national question but also to rid the southern corridor of the Pakistani terrorist menace.

Source: Tamil Canadian - By: Dr. Chandra Bose
Date: 20 August 2006