Bharat Rakshak

SBajwa wrote:Email me
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ISLAMABAD: To avoid going back to the IMF at a time when Washington is getting rough and tough against Islamabad, Pakistani authorities are banking on a friendly country’s help and Supreme Court’s expected decision on amnesty scheme to support the country’s fast declining foreign reserves.

Pakistan is expecting to receive $1-2 billion from a friendly country next week, informed official sources said, adding that authorities’ eyes are also set on the Supreme Court whose decision in a relevant case will have great impact on the success of amnesty scheme, which was recently announced and passed by the National Assembly along the 2018-19 budget.

Meanwhile, in a positive development, China's central bank said on Thursday it has signed a three-year bilateral currency swap agreement with Pakistan worth 20 billion yuan ($3.13 billion). The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said on its website the swap deal would help bilateral trade and investment. The agreement will also lessen burden on Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves.

Peregrine wrote:

SBajwa wrote:Email me
bajwa underscore sandeep at yahoo dot com

Bajwa Ji :

Sat Sriakal.

ME 2 PLS.

ਤੁਹਾਡਾ ਧੰਨਵਾਦ

Cheers

Pakis Spending Like A "Drunken Sailor"

ISLAMABAD: In a rare move, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has approved a special parting gift, equivalent of three-month salaries, for employees of the federal government at public expense.

The special ‘honorarium’ is estimated to cost Rs25-30 billion, provided it remains limited to federal government employees. The amount could rise up to Rs75bn if the special benefit is later extended to armed forces personnel, an official explained.

The Chinese, would rightly be shocked to learn that this is where their "emergency loan proceeds" of $ 1 Billion + is going to be used for this sort of nonsense

Responding to a question, he disagreed that the move could be termed pre-poll rigging, and elaborated that the elections would be held under a caretaker government through judicial officers, so federal government employees had no reason to be partial to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Pre election bribing with borrowed money should be the more proper term ! Since the Army is the "real govt", they should step in and cancel the "bribe"

The notification issued by the prime minister’s office did not mention employees of the armed forces. ( The fauj takes care of its own. It does not need the "permission" of the civilian govt !)It said that the prime minister, who is also chairperson of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet, was “pleased to order that all employees of the federal government shall be given honorarium equivalent to three basic pays for financial year 2017-18. No exception shall be allowed for payment in excess of the ceiling in any case”.

Pakistan expects to obtain fresh Chinese loans worth $1-2 billion to help it avert a balance of payments crisis, Pakistani government sources said, in another sign of Islamabad's growing reliance on Beijing for financial support.

Lending to Pakistan by China and its banks is on track to hit $5 billion in the fiscal year ending in June, according to recent disclosures by officials and Pakistan finance ministry data reviewed by Reuters.

The ramp up in China's lending comes as the United States is cutting aid to Pakistan following a fracture in relations between the on-off allies. In February, Washington led efforts that saw Pakistan placed on a global terror financing watchlist, drawing anger in Islamabad amid fears it will hurt the economy.

The new Chinese loans that are being negotiated will help bolster Pakistan's rapidly-depleting foreign currency reserves, which tumbled to $10.3 billion last week from $16.4 billion in May 2017.

The talks come only weeks after a group of Chinese commercial banks lent $1 billion to Pakistan's government in April.

The reserves decline and a sharp widening of Pakistan's current account deficit have prompted many financial analysts to predict that after the general election, likely in July, Islamabad will need its second International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout since 2013. The last IMF assistance package was worth $6.7 billion.

Beijing's attempts to prop up Pakistan's economy follow a deepening in political and military ties in the wake of China's pledge to fund badly-needed power and road infrastructure as part of the $57 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a key cog in Beijing's vast Belt and Road initiative.

"I think this month we will get that $1-2 billion," said a senior Pakistan government official, saying the funds will come from Chinese state-run institutions.

A second government official confirmed Pakistan was in "sensitive" talks with Beijing over extra funding for up to $2 billion.

Pakistan finance ministry officials did not respond to a request for comment.

China's finance ministry and central bank, who were faxed questions about the loans, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Although Pakistan's economic growth has soared to nearly 6 percent , the fastest pace in 13 years, the structural problems with the economy are coming to the fore. It is similar to 2013, when foreign currency reserves dwindled and Pakistan narrowly escaped a full-blown currency crisis.

"The current situation appears to be a replica of what we experienced in 2013, albeit on a slightly larger scale," said Yaseen Anwar, who was the governor of the central bank, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), back in 2013.h has soared to nearly 6 percent, the fastest pace in 13 years, the structural problems with the economy are coming to the fore. It is similar to 2013, when foreign currency reserves dwindled and Pakistan narrowly escaped a full-blown currency crisis.

"The current situation appears to be a replica of what we experienced in 2013, albeit on a slightly larger scale," said Yaseen Anwar, who was the governor of the central bank, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), back in 2013.

The darkening macroeconomic outlook prompted the IMF earlier this month to downgrade its economic growth forecast for Pakistan to 4.7 percent for the next fiscal year ending in June 2019, way below the government's own ambitious target of 6.2 percent.

Over the past nine months Pakistan has enacted a series of measures to combat its ballooning current account deficit, including hiking tariffs on more than 200 luxury items and devaluing its currency by about 10 percent.

In the six months to end of March, Pakistan took bilateral loans worth $1.2 billion from China, according to the Pakistan Finance Ministry document reviewed by Reuters. During this period the government also borrowed about $1.7 billion in commercial loans, mostly from Chinese banks, finance ministry officials added.

In April, Pakistan's central bank borrowed another $1 billion from Chinese commercial banks to buffer its reserves, State Bank of Pakistan Governor Tariq Bajwa told the Financial Times (FT). A spokesman for the central bank told Reuters the FT report was accurate.

The $1-2 billion under discussion would be in addition to that loan. {So, that adds up to USD 6 B already}

So far, all the measures appear to have had a limited impact on Pakistan's economy and foreign exchange reserves continue to plummet.

The collapse of the reserves is mainly due to the central bank's efforts to maintain an artificially strong rupee over the past few years, analysts say. The currency is now trading at about 115.50/116 to the U.S. dollar, down 9.8 percent in last six months after two separate devaluations since December.

In the past three weeks, reserves have declined by $1.2 billion and now stand at two months worth of import cover.

"This new (Chinese) money is a temporary bridge until August or September, when a new government will come into office and the country will likely opt for a new IMF programme," said Saad Hashmey, chief economist at brokerage house Topline Securities.

Hashmey and several other economists are predicting another currency devaluation by the end of 2018.

Pakistan may also seek help from Saudi Arabia. The Middle Eastern ally loaned $1.5 billion to Pakistan in 2014 to shore up its foreign currency reserves.

The scale of the task facing Pakistan is huge as the current account deficit widened to $14 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, according to SBP data. Dollar-denominated debt repayments in 2018 are also expected to top $5 billion, analysts say.

Part of the problem for Pakistan has been a multi-year consumer boom accompanied by huge imports of Chinese machinery for CPEC projects, which has piled pressure on the current account deficit. More recently, a jump in the oil price has compounded the problem as Pakistan is a fuel importer.

One of the senior Pakistani government officials said the money from China should give the economy breathing space.

He said exports have shot up in the last two months, helped by the devaluation in the rupee, and that should help ease the current account deficit.

However, Pakistan's central bank appears more nervous as oil prices climb, raising its main policy rate by 50 basis point to 6.5 percent on Friday and warning the "the balance-of-payments picture...has further deteriorated".

Sex Hungry Pakis Get Their Jollies Via The Mujra Way . The So-Called "Mujra Girls" Are Really Males In Female Bodies. No Wonder The Transgender Community Is A "Powerful" Force In Islamic Pakistan

Mujra in Patriarchies: Working Class Women in Lowbrow Pakistani Entertainment

A Mujra "Girl" - Sample Offering

Every weekend, Afreen Khan dances for a crowd of howling men in a theatre in Lahore. She materializes the fantasies of the male audience, and does everything their wives would not: Standing on stage shouting back at hecklers, hurling dirty jokes at unsuspecting audience members, and dancing with traditional machismo to songs laden with sexual innuendos. The chance cleavage, ending performances with thumping of the chest and growling like a lioness makes her ( making a "she" out of a obvious "he" is part of the appeals !) command the stage. Masculine behavior is not only allowed but also encouraged by the audience.

The ‘CD, stage and film star’ is a new entrant in Pakistan’s lowbrow Punjabi theatre industry. The business is unsurprisingly patriarchal—producers, writers, directors, audience, almost everyone’s male. Afreen’s dances are part of comedy theatre plays. The slapstick comedy plays have charged song and dance performances smashed in quarter intervals. The star power of dancers such as Afreen alone can sell these shows. “Humain allah ne khoobsurat banaya hae, baal lagaye hain magar hai hum andar se mard hi, is mardon ki dunya mei.” “We navigate a man’s world in female bodies, this requires masculine behavior for survival,” Afreen says backstage — drinking a glass of water —as her personal make-up artist ties a bejeweled corset around her waist for her next performance. Now 22 years old, Afreen encapsulates every single thing a woman in Pakistan is expected not to be: confident, brash, forthcoming and financially independent. She has supported her family since she was 13 year old by performing mujra. No self respecting Islami gharana would want their daughter to earn their living in this obvious Un Islamic way in an Islamic Republic . Not sure if the Mullahs are "on board" with this type of "entertainment"

Mujra emerged as a dance form to entertain the Mughal royalty in pre-colonial India. Mujra girls (arch. courtesans, nach-girls) held wealth, power and epitomized Farsi and Urdu literature, poetry and social code of conduct. Their cultural function made them an important asset of the Mughal ruling elite whom the British were trying to overthrow and displace. Starting from early 1800s the British colonial power started attempts to set forth their century long oppressive, exploitative and racist empire in the subcontinent. Pakis still dream of the "all powerful Mughal empire" and since the last 71 years have been "trying" to replicate the glories of the Moghals in the "Islamic Republic"

From mid-late 19th century the British waged campaigns to reduce mujra girls’ influence in ruling power. Dispossession of their land, property and wealth, discrediting their patrons (the ruling elite) as immoral and using many of these women as prostitutes for British soldiers were some of the old-fashioned colonial tropes that stripped mujra girls off of their cultural function and exposed them to sexually transmitted diseases.

Is there an "evidence" of all this or are the Pakis just mouthing this to justify their own "revival" of this "ancient cultural art"

A social purity movement targeting non-cis, non-hetero, queer and religious identities in the sub-continent followed. Anti-courtesan laws in the valence of controlling STDs, anti-homosexuality law Section 377 and the infamous blasphemy laws were a part of the same wave of systematic social conservatism brought by the British colonial power to the sub-continent. These laws in various forms are still embedded in constitutions of ex-colonies, Pakistan and India included. So, the writer is blaming the Brits for enacting Anti- Islamic laws like homosexuality and blasphemy

After independence, the dispossessed and displaced mujra girls continued their establishments under various levels of state policing. As explained in Gyatri Gopinath’s Queer Diasporas and South Asian Public Cultures, the Hindi/Urdu language cinema became fascinated with the image of a ‘classic’ mujra girl, romanticizing her victimage, while earlier western representations of the subject showed the post-partition mujra girl as a sex worker to be ‘saved’ by internalizing and depicting colonial critiques of the institution. Should he not be citing some "Islamic sources" instead of "Indian sources" to support his obvious stance in favour of the Mujra "girls"

Over the last two decades, a new form of mujra has come out of the shadows and taken center stage in Punjab, Pakistan. It has evolved into a hyper-sexualized form of dance to suit the demands of its new clientele, working class males. Mujras are now performed in commercial theaters and halls. Seating prices range from 80c–$30 depending on how close you can get to the mujra dancers.

This modern form of Mujra dance is deemed too vulgar, sexualized and lowbrow according to the middle class morality standards and for the elite. As upstanding members of society, men from these social classes consume the mujras in theatres or on specially dedicated cable TV channels, yet are quick to brand the performers as prostitutes; an act reeking of male power and self-righteousness while echoing the colonial social purification measures of the British Raj.

Like in Saudia, what goes behind the four walls of the kothi, house, bungalow, palace, jhopri, etc etc is no body's business

Ironically, the 1980’s Sharization era of army dictator Zia-ul-Haq started the age of commercial Mujras in Pakistan. His dictatorial policies pushed many dancing women outside their establishments in red-light districts of Lahore, Faisalabad and Multan and to the outskirts of these cities, eventually onto the commercial stage. The arrival of VHS and then VCD/DVD technology helped create star culture out of the Mujra business. By late 90s, mujra dancers Nargis, Megha, Reema Jaan, and Deedar had become powerhouse brands of the modern sexual form of mujra.

...English language musicals with female performers in western clothing geared towards the elite are deemed fit for public. On the contrary, Punjabi Mujra — where performers are restricted to a dress code — is deemed to be too crude, lowbrow and thus requires taming and policing of the bodies of dancers by the state’s censoring authorities.

Modern mujra dancers such as Afreen have learned to navigate, negotiate and more often rebel against these dangerous patriarchies, often at the cost of their lives and that of their loved ones. Financial Independence, taking care of their families and fighting male control in the industry is a common streak which unites the dancers as strong women and when any dancer is attacked, the mujra girls are first ones to reach out, console and help. “The truth is even If we wear a burqa men will never cease to harass. If I was president of Pakistan, I would castrate all the men, that’s the only thing that can ensure our safety.” Afreen says as her car pulls up at 3am next to her house in a gated community, outside of Lahore.

So, "her" target audience is not restricted to Aam Abduls . The high and mighty of Paki society are her "customers" as well . Has she "expanded her horizons" and branched out to other activities besides "plain mujra dancing" . Just wondering

( pic copyrighted )

SBajwa wrote:I have the pdf of this book named the spy chronicles and is very interesting. How do i share it?

I never knew that ISI and RAW are track thoo.

Paki Paper Says That Ex RAA -ISI Heads Bonhomie May Include Spilling State Secrets While Doing ( Hard Liquor !) Social Drinking

LAHORE – While The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace – co-authored by former spy chiefs’ of RAW and Pakistan – opened many pathways to the spooky world of spying, one interesting thing really caught our attention. The book didn’t only discuss mainstream ideas like Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Kargil, but also the hidden side of relations between ISI and RAW officers.

One instance of such relations is when two former chiefs’ of respective spy agencies shared a Black Label ( neutral location where "sharab" is not haraam ) and discussed ‘choreographing surgical strikes’.

Not only, officers of ISI and RAW enjoyed occasional drinks, but former RAW chief also shared a story of offering a drink to a Pakistani businessman, ( beard or without beard, or it does not make a difference!) when Musharraf visited India in 2005 to watch cricket.

According to Dulat, ” When Musharraf came to Delhi in April 2005 to watch cricket, around that time we had a few friends and family out on the lawn and a cousin of mine arrived with a Pakistani friend. ( Is that "cousin" under radar of RAW ) He was a businessman in Lahore or Karachi. I said, welcome, have a drink. When he was leaving he said, I could have been in Lahore or Karachi. There’s no difference between there and here.” ( Dulat is a proponent of = = theory? )

Dulat also claimed that Americans favored Musharraf because he was English-speaking and enjoyed whiskey. Dulat made these claims as following, “As for Musharraf the general, the army chief, the president—I don’t know anything other than what the Americans said, that he’s a good guy, English-speaking, whiskey-drinking. We can do business with him.” ( But the Americans later found out - to their dismay - that Mush turned out to be an out and out Islamist and practiced Taqqiya )

Hard Drinks" even offered to a ISI Afsar who comes with the mandatory Sharia -Compliant beard

Amrit Singh Dulat also talked about the shock Americans or Canadian had to go in, when they saw Pakistanis and Indians having a drink together, “When we Indians and Pakistanis sit down in the evening, whatever the provocation across the table, and have a drink, it shocks these Canadians and Americans who watch. These swines, they must be thinking, so much mud-slinging happens and yet they get along so well.” One more example of the = = , which Dulat might be "promoting" to increase the sales of his book

Former RAW chief talked about another occasion when he and Muhammad Asad Durrani shared a drink when they co-chaired a meeting on Terrorism. According to Dulat, “There were three of us at the first few meetings, including Vicky Sood [Secretary RAW], 7 and we were laughing about ‘happy hours’. General Saheb said these sessions would go on, but that the three of us should talk separately. The three of us sat down with glasses of whiskey and started talking. More openly and honestly.”

And now because of this "open and honest" talking Durrani has been summoned to GHQ

LAHORE – The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace, a book co-authored by former spy chiefs’ of ISI and RAW is making headlines. Manuscript of the book was leaked even before it was published, and it caught everyone’s attention after GHQ summoned Muhammad Asad Durrani to give an explanation for the statements he made in the book. The GHQ Jernails are ready to cook Durrani's goose for sure

One such confession was made by Amrit Singh Dulat, co-author, and former RAW spy. According to Dulat, Durrani put forward a suggestion on “How to choreograph surgical strikes.” The suggestion was made by Durrani in 2011, while both him and Dulat were drinking.

Durrani has never "sported a beard" . Going by THAT criterion alone, it is obvious that he is Anti-Pakistani , Anti- Islam and possibly a RAA agent

As per Dulat’s account, “In Islamabad in 2011, when we got a bottle of Black Label (whiskey) from General Saheb’s car ( so both the ISI/RAW Heads seem to prefer Black Label Brand !) and had a drink in my room, he spoke to me about how it would be if we had an understanding. For instance, if Mumbai 8 happened again, there would be an understanding that India had to retaliate. And that it could be managed. That India could do what (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi did, a surgical strike.” Did they wake up next morning and remembered making these kinds of statements

The former RAW chief shared that he found it “interesting”. In his words, “It was interesting. Here was a former ISI chief with a considerable reputation, suggesting how to choreograph surgical strikes. How can a person get more candid?” You never know what happens When you are UTI ( Under the Influence of .... (fill in the blank, liquor, drinks, etc etc )

Islamic Pakistan Reaches A New Low

RAWALPINDI – A school teacher was arrested on Friday for attempting to rape a nine-year-old girl in Gujjar Khan area of Punjab.
.According to media reports, the 20-year-old teacher was arrested after the father of the victim filed a first information report (FIR) with Gujjar Khan police about the incident.The girl was returning home after visiting a nearby shop when the accused tried to take her with him with the intent of rape. The girl was able to escape after a motorcyclist entered the street and the accused let her go.

Could it be a case of "jumping to conclusion" in this day and age of 24/7 news cycle and/or ratings

India Has Now Been Accused Of Waging The So-Called Hybrid War Against Pakistan - Economic, Political , Psychological Etc Etc . Read And "Enjoy" The Farticle

There is growing evidence of hybrid warfare in the Indian strategy of pressuring Pakistan through media, subversion, cyber warfare and diplomatic maneuvers aimed at its isolation.

Paki Chief Minister's Wife Hold A US Passport

PESHAWAR: Wife of Khyber Paktunkhwa Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak was not allowed to board a plan on Saturday after she failed to produce complete travel documents.

According to Geo News, Amira Khattak wanted to travel on her US passport through a foreign airline but was stopped by airport authorities at the Bacha Khan Airport. Another Paki Politico family who has "purchased insurance" through acquisition of a foreign passport

Citing unnamed sources, the TV channel reported that Mrs Khattak couldn't produce National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) .

Would not be surprised if the PTI Chief himself, like his CM wife ( Imran Khan) is himself the "proud holder" of a HMG coveted Blue Passport

ISLAMABAD: Former chief of Indian supreme spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) A S Dulat has revealed that RAW saved life of former Pakistani president Gen (R) Pervez Musharraf by timely informing him of an attack by Jaish-e-Muhammad on him. In an interview to an Indian TV channel, A S Dulat said that after receiving the information the Pakistani agencies promptly acted and saved the situation. Later, the attacker was hanged. He said that Gen (R) Musharraf and the then ISI chief had thanked him for the favour. Did Dulat and Durrani later invited "Mush" to join one of their drinking parties

One More Example Of "India Will Not Be Allowed To Wage "Hybrid Warfare" Against The Islamic Republic Of Pakistan"

Eid-ul-Fitr 2018 is just round the corner with multiple Pakistani films, including the Mahira Khan and Sheheryar Munawar-starrer 7 Din Mohabbat In, Jawed Sheikh’s Wajood and Azaadi that features Moammar Rana and Sonya Hussyn in lead roles, scheduled to release around that time.

So, the Aam Paki Abduls are "forced to swallow" the third rate Lollywood fare that will be dished out to them during the festival season

While the much anticipated Bollywood film, Race 3 that will see Salman Khan replace Saif Ali Khan as the lead this time, is also releasing on June 15, it will not run in cinemas in Pakistan during Eid, as per latest development.In a recent turn of events, the Central Board of Film Censors has issued a statement against the screening of Indian films on the ‘occasions of Eid’.

Paki press is full of reports these days that Paki families are slowly but surely imbibing "Hindu cultural traits" by staying glued to their TV sets 24/7 watching "Bolllywood trash" . All this - in keeping with the general paranoia in Pakiland - is because the Pakis suspect that India is waging a fifth generation hybrid warfare against the Islamic Republic. From that point of view, the banning of Indian films makes sense

The statement reads, “In order to revive and promote local film industry in Pakistan, the Federal Government has decided to put a limited restriction on exhibition/ screening of Indian films during the period around Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Azha. The restriction shall remain in force two days before and two weeks after Eid days.”

The statement also adds that the importers/distributors of foreign films are requested to restrain from exhibition/ screening of Indian films in cinema houses all over the country during the period mentioned.Though this has been done with the intention of promoting local films, we feel it may have an adverse effect on local cinema. With no Bollywood films played in cinemas, the footfall will reduce to a larger extent and this will affect the business of cinema, resulting in lower box office numbers for Pakistani films. So, in a roundabout way they are admitting that locally produced films are third class

Sunni Arab Hero Muhammad Bin Qasim Eugolized In Pakistan For Opposing Hindu Raja Dahir Of Sindh Who Supported The Shia Faction

10th Ramazan marks advent of Islam in Indian subcontinent with the arrival of Muslim general Muhammad bin Qasim in Sindh at the port of Deebal in 712 A.D.

The day in Sindh is commemorated as Youme Babul Islam. Ceremonies are organized to inform the people about the significance of the day.

Former Sindh Governor late Shaheed Hakim Mohammed Saeed was considered the torch-bearer of Youm Babul Islam’s movement.

Speakers pay tribute to the great warrior and the young Muslim Commander, Muhammad bin Qasim who conquered Sindh at the age of 17 years.

History of Pakistan begins on the day when Bin Qasim landed on Sind soil, and jumps forward, all of a sudden, to August 14, 1947. The intervening period, as one famous Nobel Prize Winner has observed in his various books , is one big BLACK HOLE, when Malsi does not play a prominent role and therefore conveniently censored from school books, official publications etc etc

According to some historians, a letter written by an Arab girl who escaped from a prison of Partab Raye,Governor Deebal, asked Hajjaj Bin Yusuf for help.

This is another one of those "urban Arab legend" which passes for history in Paki school books and is taught ad nauseam to small childern to impart them with an Anti - Hindu bent of mind

When Hajjaj asked Raja Dahir, the then ruler of Sidh, for the release of prisoners and compensation, the latter refused. Fiction masquerading as history

Hajjaj sent Muhammad Bin Qasim for action against Sindh in 711. And the whole continent converted to Malsi

Also cited as a reason for this campaign was the Raja Dahir's policy of providing refuge to Arab rebels. Read Shia here. The Shia brand of Malsi is currently out of fashion in Pakiland . The Arab- Sunni- version is preferred , mainly for currying favour with the cash rich Arabs

anupmisra wrote:Link to download the book.

https://ia801508.us.archive.org/9/items ... 0Dulat.pdf

It is a much spoken truism that there is honour among thieves. But is there honour among the spies too? Is such a thing even possible between professionals trained and conditioned to use deceit, lies, even violence and deniability, in fighting their silent wars? Wars in which no uniforms are worn, no rules, no Geneva Convention, no prisoners taken, of war or of any kind.

The history of espionage is filled with stories that will tell you that such things can, and do happen more often than we would think, even during the Cold War. Rival antagonists meet, talk, develop mutual respect and do sometimes display personal affections as well. This happens especially when they are drawn into behind-the-scenes negotiations on behalf of their principles. (principals )

The reason we explore this unusual area this week is that Indian and Pakistani media have been abuzz over revelations in a truly commendable joint effort by the respective spy chiefs of the two sides, RAW chief A.S. Dulat and ISI boss Asad Durrani, who served in different periods. The sutradhar, or the anchor, of these remarkable conversations is journalist Aditya Sinha.

It is known that the spy chiefs (or national security advisors who happen to be former spy chiefs) of the two countries at various points meet secretly at distant places (Thailand is as convenient for Indians and Pakistanis as Vienna used to be for the Americans and Soviets). In this book, The Spy Chronicles, there is the touching story of how RAW helped Asad Durrani’s son when he was caught by Bombay Police at the airport for visa violation and they never even let it be known that he was a former ISI chief’s son. Durrani had long retired by then. But he had his “goodwill” with Dulat, who spoke with the then RAW chief Rajinder Khanna.

There were secret conversations even while some of our spy chiefs were in service. Not long before he passed away, Anand Verma, director of RAW in the Rajiv Gandhi era, made stunning revelations in an op-ed in The Hindu of his secret negotiations with the more notorious Lt.Gen. Hamid Gul, then ISI chief. In negotiations, mostly conducted overseas, and later on public phone lines using code words and signals, he said they came close to settling the Siachen dispute and also de-escalating Kashmir. ( Till the very end, Gul remained a staunched Islamist plus a converted Anti- American ! Maybe, because his son was refused a student visa to study in one of the Ivy League Univ of Massaland . You cannot "bad mouth" a super power and then expect a visa as your "birthright" )

He also revealed that to build confidence, Gul handed over to India, in a covert operation, four soldiers of Sikh units who had deserted in the mutinies following Operation Blue Star in 1984 and defected to Pakistan. These kind of things are not uncommon in international affairs !

The negotiation process, he wrote, was initiated by Pakistan and had the direct blessing of Rajiv Gandhi and General Zia-ul-Haq. He wrote that for the first meeting Rajiv sought the good offices of Crown Prince Hassan of Jordan. He was a personal friend of Rajiv’s (remember the controversy then of India allowing traffic rights to Royal Jordanian Airlines and the prince gifting Rajiv a fancy car). Hassan had great goodwill in Pakistan too (his wife was of Pakistani origin).

The movement stopped as Zia was assassinated. Verma suspected his assassination may have had something to do with his own army commanders’ disapproval of his peacemaking. Gul was moved out of the ISI not long after and became a lifelong, freelance jihadi. And the only civilian at the other end, then former foreign secretary Niaz Naik (we had known him well as Pakistan’s high commissioner to Delhi), was also found dead in mysterious circumstances in the course of time.

It all adds up to a neat conspiracy theory. Certainly, Verma, a very cautious and understated spook as most Indians of the pre-Dulat/Raman generation were, waited nearly three decades to make this revelation. He was also evidently provoked by Gul’s death and criticism of him then, including by this writer.

Some self seeking publicity is always welcome

I do believe Verma to have been truthful in his recollections. I attended a series of such Track-II meetings. One of these, called the Balusa Group also had one round hosted by Crown Prince Hassan in Amman. It included one former Indian chief, Air Chief Marshal S.K. Kaul, his brother and former cabinet secretary and India’s ambassador to the US, P.K. Kaul, occasionally Lt.Gen. Satish Nambiar, former Pakistani army vice-chief General K.M. Arif, top industrialist and philanthropist Babar Ali (he hosted one session in Lahore at Pakistan’s finest management institute, LUMS, that he had helped set up). LUMS is one hotbed of Pakjabi nationalism !

In another Track-II group (not Balusa) that I joined, we also had former Indian and Pakistani army chiefs Generals Sundarji and Jehangir Karamat, Jaswant Singh (later in the Vajpayee cabinet), the founder of Indian strategic thought K. Subrahmanyam, and now India’s finest strategic mind, C. Raja Mohan. So, he is also a standing member of the "chai-biskoot" club

Of course, one of the most sincere members of the group was retired Maj.Gen. Mahmud Durrani, (no relation of Asad) by far the most sensible, pacifist and soldier-like Pakistani general you’ve ever met. No surprise that commando-comic Pakistani commentators gave him the pejorative “General Shanti”. Later, in 2008, as Pakistan’s national security advisor, he showed the moral courage and honesty to admit that Kasab was a Pakistani and there was no point denying that fact. He paid for it with his job. And he has not come out of the closet yet to put his own two paisa worth on the latest book by his namesake

That he was a Pakistani patriot, and a tough soldier, nobody could doubt. He fought India as a young tank commander in defence of the Sialkot sector, particularly the viciously contested battles of Philora and Chawinda where India’s strike corps, led by 1 Armoured Division, advanced. At one of the Balusa meetings at Lake Bellagio in Italy on a long evening walk, he recounted to us his story of 1965.

It was a mindless slugfest, he said, as generals on both sides lacked tactical dash or initiative. Except in one case. He said the only truly brilliant and audacious tactical move from your side was made by Lt.Col. A.B. Tarapore who led his regiment in assault but was killed in artillery shelling. He was awarded one of the two Param Vir Chakras of that war. Mahmud Durrani had found Tarapore’s body and still held him in fellow cavalry-man’s respect.

There was much talk then of India having escaped a “near-thing” not once but twice in 1987-88. Except that the first was a war, during Brasstacks in 1987, and the second, peace in 1988. It was “common knowledge”, though never officially stated or confirmed by any of the players, that a Siachen deal was almost clinched. Again mostly through these behind-the-scenes, “spooky” contacts. This is why this mood had turned so dramatically from war to peace and then status quo.

I do agree with the suggestion Verma made then that the Pakistani deep state got rid of Zia as he was seen becoming soft. But I also believe that rather than a peacenik-come-lately, Gul was more likely part of that plot. A president and military dictator was killed under Gul’s watch as ISI chief and he continued in that job for a year afterwards, removed by Benazir Bhutto. Not fired, just moved to command a vital corps in Multan.

Postscript: I first met Lt.Gen. Asad Durrani at a Track-2 type India-Pakistan conference organised in Maldives’ Kurumba Village Resort (near Male) by the reputed, London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies. It was the winter of 1998 and it seemed as if some calm had returned in India-Pakistan relations under Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif. Why has the rhetoric gone down so dramatically on the Indian side, Durrani wondered aloud. I said, because almost total normalcy and peace had returned on the ground in Kashmir. I saw the general look up, forehead creased, and give me that career spook’s laser look. And he said: “That situation on the ground can change in no time.” This was precisely when the Pakistanis began their first incursions into Kargil. Six months later, and exactly 19 years to date, the two armies were fighting there. Durrani had been retired for five years. But once the ISI boss, you are always in the know.

Seems that Shekhar wants to blow his own horn here, saying that he too is a repository of "such state secrets" and now is a good time to get this off his chest , once and for all