| rkr |
Posted
on 25-Mar-02 03:05 PM
what do you guys think of this article? it was in today's hindustan times.
India, Nepal uncover ISI destabilisation plot
Jaideep Mazumdar
(Kolkata, March 25)
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India and Nepal have jointly unearthed an ISI plot to step up militancy and destabilise the economies of both the countries.
The ISI had succeeded in bringing together Nepal’s Maoists and insurgent and terrorist groups in India, including the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) and People’s War (PW). “The ISI had this elaborate plan of pumping huge amounts of counterfeit currency into Nepal and eastern India and orchestrating simultaneous strikes by the Maoists in Nepal and the ultra-Leftists, the ULFA, the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) and other militant groups in India,” an intelligence source told the Hindustan Times.
An Indian intelligence agency unearthed this plot a few months ago. New Delhi alerted Kathmandu, which unearthed more details.
Consultations were then held between the intelligence establishments of the two countries since early January. “It was thanks to (this) close cooperation … that the … plot could be uncovered,” the source said.
Late last year, ISI operatives functioning from the Pakistan Embassy in Kathmandu held meetings with Maoists and leaders of the MCC, PW, ULFA, BLT and a couple of other insurgent groups in India. This was followed by a meeting of leaders of some of these outfits, where it was decided that all of them would work closely in providing arms training, facilitating movement of arms through one another’s territories and carrying out coordinated strikes in both countries. These operations were to be funded with counterfeit money.
The ISI had also put in place a channel for smuggling drugs into Nepal. “The drugs consignments were to have been routed through Kathmandu to the West. The huge yields from this operation would have gone to provide arms and other logistical support to the militants in both countries. The money would also have been used to fund the ISI itself since the covert agency, especially its cells dealing with overseas operations, had been facing budget cuts because of strong US pressure on Islamabad to clip the ISI’s wings,” the source said.
The ISI had also been planning to convert parts of western Nepal, where Maoists hold sway, as safe havens for Kashmiri militants.
During Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s visit to New Delhi last week, the two countries decided to set up joint working groups to counter the ISI’s activities in the two countries. The agreement was kept under wraps at Kathmandu’s request.
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