India established cell to sabotage CPEC, says army

ISLAMABAD: India is trying to sabotage the China-pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project through its intelligence agency RAW, a senior Pakistani military oficer said on Tuesday.

“RAW has established a special cell at a cost of $500 million to sabotage the CPEC,” General Zubair Mehmood Hayat, Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee (CJCSC), said.

He was addressing a two-day conference on regional dynamics and strategic concerns in South Asia.

The top military oficer said India was perpetrating terrorism in Pakistan through Taliban and Baloch separatists. “By doing so, India was playing with ire... India is stoking chaos and anarchy in the region.”

In his address, he stressed the need to resolve the Kashmir dispute. “Kashmir issue is the harbinger of a nuclear war in the region.”

Pakistan’s former High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit also said peace in the region was not possible unless the Kashmir issue was resolved. India, he said, was pushing the region towards instability.

Earlier on Monday, two soldiers of the Pakistan Army were killed in a militant attack on a checkpost near the Afghan border, the Inter-services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

“Terrorists from the Afghanistan side attempted an attack on Pakistani posts along the Pak-afghan border in Bajaur Agency. The attempt was effectively responded killing 8-10 leeing terrorists, while many seen running back were injured,” the ISPR said in a statement.

The deceased soldiers were identiied as Captain Junaid Hafeez and Sepoy Raham,. The banned Tehrik-e-taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack.

Four soldiers were injured in the incident. “The absence of Afghan (state) writ on (the) Afghan side of the border, like many other areas, facilitates terrorists to undertake such attempts,” the ISPR said.

Oficials said the militants who have led to Afghanistan due to military operations in Pakistan operate from the border launching attacks on Pakistani posts.

Both the countries share a 2,600-kilometre border which the Pakistan Army is now fencing to stop cross-border movement of militants. It is the fourth such attack on Pakistani posts from the Afghan side of the border in two months.