Saeed-Pak establishment nexus clear from new 'water-war' anti-India campaign

Washington, May 28 (ANI): Despite its public stance of wanting a truce with long-time 'rival' neighbour, experts have pointed out that the Pakistan government has devised a new strategy to continue its traditional 'proxy war' through extremists against India.

Pakistani militant groups, particularly the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the banned Jamaat-ud-Daawa (JuD), under the guidance of country's security establishments have now adopted the long pending river water sharing issue as a tool to aid their nefarious aims.

The water issue touches millions of Pakistanis, and that is why militant leaders like the JuD chief Hafeez Mohammed Saeed, the mastermind of the 26/11 terror attacks, have been raising the matter amidst people to incite feelings and gain support against the 'anti-India' movement.

Saeed recently led a protest of thousands of farmers in Lahore carrying placards which read :"Water Flows or Blood", which clearly suggested the motives of the 'jihadi' organisations.

Analysts underlined that Saeed's use of the water issue demonstrates his long-standing links to Pakistan's powerful security establishment, elements of which do not favour peacemaking, The Washington Post reports.

"Hafiz Saeed is trying to echo the establishment's line. The government is trying to shift the focus of Kashmir as part of a jihadist thing . . . to an existential issue," said Rifaat Hussain, a professor of security studies at Qaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad.

The LeT has taken its fight against India beyond Kashmir to stage attacks in Afghanistan and work with militant organizations in Pakistan's northwest, but Saeed in particular has sought to uphold the group's Kashmir-focused reputation, making water a bit of a departure, the newspaper said.

Blaming India for the water crisis in the country is meant to 'inflame public passions' at a time when it appeared that the Pakistanis were starting to denounce terrorism, the paper said. (ANI)