



Pakistan has presented a ‘dossier’ to top US officials detailing evidence of involvement of Indian secret agencies in stoking and supporting militancy in the country’s troubled regions, according to a top defence official.





The disclosure was made during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Defence presided over by Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed on Monday. The ‘vital’ evidence against India was handed over to senior US military and intelligence officials by army chief General Raheel Sharif during his recent visit to Washington.Senator Mushahid confirmed that senior defence officials during an in-camera briefing informed the Senate panel that India was using Afghan soil against Pakistan.The Pakistani claim comes amid renewed calls from India for action against Jammatud Dawa (JuD) and other militant groups during the ongoing visit of US President Barack Obama. This is the first time Pakistani officials said evidence was shared with the US regarding the involvement of India in subversive activities.A committee member told The Express Tribune that Defence Secretary Lt Gen (retd) Alam Khattak also informed the panel that Washington has assured Islamabad fugitive commander of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Mullah Fazlullah would be eliminated. “If he [Fazllulah] is arrested, he will be extradited to Pakistan,” the member was quoted as saying by the defence secretary.Mullah Fazlullah is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan. Pakistan has stepped up pressure on Kabul to eliminate the most wanted man after his group carried out the massacre of over 150 people, mostly schoolchildren, at the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar.An official statement issued after the meeting said that the Senate defence committee was given an in-camera detailed briefing by the defence secretary on the recent Pak-US Strategic Dialogue and the army chief’s visit to the United States.The chairman and members of the committee appreciated the stance taken by the defence ministry on delicate military affairs with the US. The committee paid glowing tributes to the sacrifices of the armed forces and the successful Operation Zarb-e-Azb, as a result of which Pak-Afghan ties have witnessed improvement.Both Pakistan and Afghanistan, the defence ministry said, were on the same page vis-à-vis action being taken against terrorists especially after the APS massacre.It further apprised the meeting that during the recent talks, the government effectively highlighted Pakistan’s point of view on the matter.Senator Mushahid said Pakistan’s national security was of paramount significance and unanimity of opinion existed among all shades of opinion in this regard.Senator Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain proposed that army public schools be named after the martyrs of the Peshawar APS attack. The proposal was unanimously endorsed by the committee members, the statement said.Published in The Express Tribune, January 27, 2015.