The bilateral relations between India and Pakistan are again grabbing top headlines, but not for the right reasons. With the arrest of Kulbushan, an alleged RAW spy and a currently serving Indian Navy officer, the rocky relationship between the two neighbors is set to face another bump in the road. According to media reports from Pakistan, Kulbushan has confessed to involvement in terror activities in Balochistan and Karachi. He was purportedly assigned the mission of disrupting the development of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), in particular the Gwadar port, by supporting Balochistan insurgency.
Pakistan has lodged a strong protest against Indian interference in its territory, while the military’s public relations wing has asserted that “this is nothing short of state-sponsored terrorism”. An intelligence-based crackdown on RAW sleeper cells has already resulted in detention of 13 more Indian spies from across Pakistan. Meanwhile, Pakistan has requested “proactive support” from the Iranian government to investigate the activities of Kulbhushan and other RAW agents operating in the region.
Considering that Kulbhushan was based in Iran, the Pakistani government is seeking further details of Indian spy agents on Iranian soil, who may be disrupting peace and stability in Pakistan. This cooperation will challenge Iran’s ability to balance its relations with both India and Pakistan.
The timing of Kulbushan’s arrest is interesting as it was revealed just days ahead of the much-anticipated meeting between Indian and Pakistani foreign secretaries in Washington. Although the meeting is now likely to feature discussions on Indian involvement in Pakistan, it will be crucial for deciding the fate of a Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue (CBD) between the two sides. The talks were earlier derailed in the aftermath of Pathankot airbase attack in January as India demanded a “prompt and decisive action” against the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) that was believed to be behind the terrorist attack. Since then, Pakistan has taken action against the leadership of JeM and its Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has visited India to carry out its own probe of the incident. In the coming days, India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) is expected to tour Pakistan and carry forward the probe.
While restrained statements from both sides and a willingness to collaborate in investigations of major incidents signals political maturity, a persistent question mark hangs over the future of their fragile bilateral relations. Their volatile relationship, strained by mutual suspicion and deep mistrust, has on several occasions been sabotaged by backstage actors and other forces within both countries who want to play the hate card for their own vested interests. Conspicuously, such incidents always come to the limelight at a time when there is growing hope of a revival in ties between the two arch rival neighbors. It is no wonder then that revelations of interference in internal matters and abetting crossborder terrorism prove to be a stumbling block in peace and security efforts by both neighbors.
