ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) – Speculations looming over the vulnerability of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to Indian and Afghan militants have been vindicated by top civilian intelligence agency IB warning government to stay alert in this regard.
“The East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) are some of the potential threats to CPEC, as the former is directed towards China which is a prime stakeholder in the project,” Intelligence Bureau (IB) Deputy Director General Ali Ahmed Sabir told the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat on Tuesday.
Although political and defence analysts were wary of the ill intentions of Pakistan’s arch-rivals but this is the first time, a top intelligence agency chief has formally raised concerns regarding the security of multi-billion dollar project before legislators.
The officials opined that the nexus of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) could do harm to the CPEC.
The meeting was held under the chair of Senator Talha Mehmood where IB’s Director General Aftab Sultan admitted the scant human resource available to focus CPEC related projects but he vowed to keep a sharp eye on the anti-Pakistan elements.
IB’s Deputy Director clarified that “The East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM)” was not directly involved in Pakistan but it was a potential threat to the project due to the Chinese connection. He claimed that ETIM militants have shifted to Afghanistan after operation Zarb-e-Azb.
Senator Mehmood also urged the officials to blatantly expose the RAW operations in Pakistan.
“You need to expose RAW, whose spies are being arrested and shame them and tell the world what they are doing in Pakistan,” Mehmood said in reference to Kulbhushan Yadav, a serving Naval officer and Indian spy who was arrested from Balochistan in March this year” Express Tribune reported.
Mehmood pressed officials to fully expose the RAW sponsored activities in Pakistan and asked the officials to provide him with a list of Raw suspects for putting the facts before media.
