جمعہ، 20 جون، 2025
India and Israel's Silent Game in the Gulf
Without Borders — India and Israel's Silent Game in the Gulf
By: Dilpazir Ahmad Janjua
The Persian Gulf — long seen as the world’s energy artery — is no longer just about oil tankers, trade routes, and naval chokepoints. In the digital age, it has quietly become the theatre of a new kind of warfare: one fought not with fighter jets or boots on the ground, but with spyware, cyberattacks, and intelligence operatives in suits.
And behind this invisible front line are two increasingly intertwined players: India and Israel.
Iran: Target Number One
Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran has been viewed by many regional and global powers as a destabilizing force. Its Revolutionary Guards, influence over proxy groups like Hezbollah and the Houthis, and resistance to Western-backed order have made it the focal point of espionage activity.
Iranian scientists have been assassinated. Nuclear facilities have been hacked. Its intelligence services have reported repeated infiltration. For Tehran, this isn’t random sabotage — it’s a well-orchestrated campaign of containment.
And leading that campaign is Israel’s feared intelligence agency, Mossad.
Israel’s Deep Penetration
Over the last two decades, Mossad has pulled off some of the boldest operations on Iranian soil. In 2020, top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated near Tehran — reportedly by a remote-controlled weapon. Before that, the infamous Stuxnet cyberattack — jointly attributed to Israel and the U.S. — disrupted centrifuges at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility.
Dozens of Iranian officials have since been arrested, accused of feeding sensitive information to Israeli handlers. Iran's sovereignty, it seems, is under high-tech siege.
India in the Gulf: A Quiet Operator
India, often seen as a neutral power juggling ties with both Tehran and the Gulf monarchies, is quietly emerging as a major player in this regional intelligence matrix — not least due to its close and growing security partnership with Israel.
Since 2017, India and Israel have signed a series of cybersecurity and defense cooperation agreements. India’s RAW operatives receive Israeli training and technology, and reports suggest that India has leveraged Israeli spyware — most infamously Pegasus — not only for domestic surveillance but also in collaboration with Gulf regimes.
And there's a demographic dimension to this too. With over 8.5 million Indian nationals living across Gulf countries, India has access to a massive, embedded diaspora — some of whom are allegedly involved in passive data gathering or surveillance operations, often unknowingly.
Gulf States: Allies or Enablers?
The Abraham Accords (2020) opened the door for formal Israeli integration into Gulf security systems. Today, Israeli advisors, tech firms, and surveillance infrastructure are quietly becoming part of defense architecture in countries like the UAE and Bahrain.
India, already a major economic and defense partner of these same states, appears to be synchronizing its efforts with Israel — forming what analysts are beginning to call a "shadow alliance" against Iranian influence.
Tehran’s Alarm Bells
Iran has been vocally critical of this growing India-Israel-Gulf nexus. Officials in Tehran accuse Israel of engineering cyberattacks and targeted killings, criticize Gulf monarchies for "hosting the enemy," and have even detained Indian nationals under suspicion of espionage linked to Israeli interests.
For Iran, this isn't just a security threat — it's an ideological and geopolitical challenge to its regional identity and ambitions.
The Real Question
So what are we witnessing? A pragmatic security coalition? Or a slow erosion of sovereignty in exchange for political stability?
Have Gulf rulers, in trying to counter Iran, handed their digital borders over to foreign powers?
Or has Iran's own posturing left its neighbors with little choice but to lean on external intelligence partners?
Whatever the answer, one thing is certain: the Gulf is no longer just an oil zone — it’s an active front in a silent war.
And in this war, the wounds may take years to show, but the damage is already underway.
منگل، 10 جون، 2025
دانت ٹوٹنے کے بعد بھی ۔۔۔
جمعرات، 5 جون، 2025
خصی بکرا، آنڈو بکرا
منگل، 3 جون، 2025
Kashmir in Crisis: Suppression, Silence, and the Shadow of War
Kashmir in Crisis: Suppression, Silence, and the Shadow of War
In the aftermath of a military setback against Pakistan, Indian forces have intensified their grip on Indian-administered Kashmir, launching what many observers call an undeclared siege. Thousands of Kashmiri youth have been rounded up. Homes have been torched, entire neighborhoods demolished, and disturbing reports suggest that girls and women have been taken to military camps. The valley, once described as the Switzerland of Asia, now resembles a war zone under lockdown.
No journalist is allowed to enter. The internet is a luxury permitted only to a few vetted individuals. What little information escapes the region paints a grim picture of systematic repression.
Then, on April 22, a brutal attack on a tourist site near Pahalgam claimed 26 lives. India immediately pointed fingers at Pakistan, alleging the involvement of a little-known militant group called The Resistance Front (TRF). The group, however, denied any role. The incident triggered another round of accusations and retaliation.
Within weeks, India struck targets across the Pakistani border, killing civilians, including women and children. Pakistan responded swiftly, targeting the military installations from which the initial missiles had been launched. Tensions soared as India deployed dozens of fighter jets, including the much-vaunted French-made Rafales. But in a dramatic counter, Pakistan reportedly shot down five Indian aircraft—three of them Rafales. A ceasefire was hastily negotiated by then-U.S. President Donald Trump at India’s request.
At the core of this bitter and recurring hostility lies Kashmir—a territory whose fate has remained unresolved since 1947.
Back then, the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir was given a choice: accede to India or Pakistan. Despite the region’s Muslim-majority population, its Hindu ruler, Maharaja Hari Singh, aligned with India. The decision, never accepted by Kashmiris, they fought back and liberated the Area now called Azad Kashmir.
Today, Kashmir is divided. India administers the Kashmir Valley, Jammu, and Ladakh; Pakistan oversees Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. China controls Aksai Chin and the Shaksgam Valley. Each stakeholder maintains its grip, but the people of Kashmir continue to suffer the consequences.
In August 2019, India revoked Article 370 and 35A, stripping Kashmir of its special constitutional status. This opened the door for demographic change: over 85,000 domicile certificates have reportedly been granted to non-Kashmiris—mainly retired Indian army personnel and Hindu settlers—stoking fears of engineered demographic shifts.
Elections in 2024 brought Omar Abdullah back into the political spotlight, but his government holds little actual power. Real authority remains with the Indian Army, and the façade of democracy has offered little relief to the people.
Human rights groups have consistently flagged violations in the region. Thousands of young Kashmiris are behind bars. Freedom of speech, religion, and assembly has been suppressed. Dissent is met with detentions; protest is criminalized. Even digital resistance is quashed—over 8,000 social media accounts were blocked in the wake of the Pahalgam attack, many belonging to journalists, activists, and ordinary citizens.
India continues to label Kashmiri resistance as terrorism, but on the ground, the narrative is far more complex. What is framed as national security is, to many Kashmiris, the erasure of their identity and voice.
The media, once a potential ally for truth, is now a tool of statecraft. News portals have been shut down or repurposed to echo the state’s perspective. Journalists who dare to report independently face harassment or arrest.
What happens in Kashmir is not just a regional dispute—it is a human tragedy unfolding in silence.
Until the world chooses to listen—and act—Kashmir will remain caged in conflict, its people paying the price for geopolitical games played far from their homes.
بدھ، 28 مئی، 2025
نریندرمودئ سے سرینڈرمودی تک کا سفر
مئی 2025 میں جب بھارت نے پہلگام حملے کے بعد "آپریشن سندور" کا اعلان کیا، تو نریندر مودی کا انداز، زبان اور لب و لہجہ مین روایتی "چوکیدار" مودی تھا جو پاکستان کو سبق سکھانے کی بات کرتا، گولی کا جواب گولی سے دینے کے نعرے لگواتا اور اپنے ووٹر کو ایک جارحانہ طاقت کا خواب دکھاتا تھا۔
آپریشن سندور بھی اسی بیانیے کا تسلسل تھا۔ بھارتی میڈیا پر جنگی ترانے، ٹاک شوز میں فتح کے نعرے، اور مودی کے چہرے پر روایتی اکڑ نمایاں تھی۔
مگر وقت نے ثابت کر دیا کہ بیانیے صرف بولنے سے نہیں، نبھانے سے بنتے ہیں — اور یہی وہ مقام تھا جہاں "نریندر" کا بیانیہ "سریندر" میں بدلنے لگا۔
پاکستان کی طرف سے روایتی شور شرابے کے بجائے ایک غیر متوقع خاموشی دیکھنے کو ملی — لیکن یہ خاموشی طوفان سے کم نہ تھی۔ ایک طرف سفارتی محاذ پر پاکستان نے بھرپور موجودگی دکھائی، اقوام متحدہ، چین، ترکی، ایران اور دیگر ممالک کو صورتحال سے آگاہ کیا؛ دوسری طرف عسکری سطح پر بھارت کو سمجھا دیا گیا کہ "حقیقی طاقت وہ نہیں جو کیمرے دکھائیں، بلکہ وہ ہے جو دشمن کی زبان میں جواب دے۔"
بھارت کو اندرون خانہ دفاعی پوزیشن لینی پڑی۔ یہی وہ لمحہ تھا جب مودی حکومت کو اندازہ ہوا کہ بیانیہ اب نہیں چلے گا۔
مودی حکومت نے آہستہ آہستہ اپنی زبان بدلنی شروع کی۔ گولی، بدلہ، جنگ، دشمن، اور فتح جیسے الفاظ کی جگہ ترقی، خودانحصاری، آتم نربھر بھارت، نوجوانوں کی تربیت، اور میک ان انڈیا جیسے نرم مگر بھاری الفاظ نے لے لی۔
وزیر اعظم مودی نے ایک تقریر میں کہا:
"آپریشن سندور اب صرف فوجی کارروائی نہیں، ایک قومی مہم ہے۔ یہ ہماری اندرونی ترقی، قومی یکجہتی اور خودانحصاری کی علامت ہے۔"یہ وہی مودی تھے جنہوں نے دو ہفتے قبل کہا تھا:
"ہم گھر میں گھس کر ماریں گے، اور دشمن کو نیست و نابود کر دیں گے۔"
نریندر مودی اب اپنے بیانیے میں دفاعی ہو چکے ہیں۔ پاکستان کے تحمل، تیاری اور بروقت ردعمل نے انہیں مجبور کیا کہ وہ عسکری رنگ کو دھندلا کر ترقیاتی رنگ چڑھائیں۔ ایک ایسا لیڈر جس کی پوری سیاست پاکستان مخالف جذبات پر کھڑی تھی، آج "ہر شہری آپریشن سندور کا سپاہی ہے" جیسے نعرے لگا رہا ہے۔
یعنی بندوقوں کی جگہ بازو، ٹینکوں کی جگہ تربیتی ادارے، اور "سرجیکل اسٹرائیک" کی جگہ "اسکل ڈیولپمنٹ پروگرام"۔
یہی وہ لمحہ تھا جہاں نریندر، سریندر بنے۔
مودی کو یقین تھا کہ وہ جارحانہ فوجی کارروائی سے پاکستان کو دباؤ میں لے آئیں گے، جیسا کہ وہ اپنے ووٹروں کو باور کراتے تھے۔ مگر اس بار، ان کی غلط فہمی دور ہو گئی — اور وہ بھی اسی زبان میں جو وہ سمجھتے ہیں۔
پاکستان نے مودی کو پیغام دے دیا کہ نہ صرف وہ تیار ہے، بلکہ اب دنیا کو بھی اپنا مؤقف منوانا جانتا ہے۔ اور یہی وہ سبق ہے جو نریندر کو شاید سیاست کے میدان میں پہلی بار اتنے خاموش انداز میں پڑھایا گیا ہے۔