ISI cultivates Hamas as proxy against India while deceiving US on Gaza peace

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) The White House released a 20-point plan following discussions between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a Gaza peace plan.

The plan, released on Monday, said that Hamas should release hostages and leave power in Gaza, and also disarm.

In the midst of these developments, there were reports that Pakistan would be sending in troops to Gaza as part of a Muslim nations' peacekeeping force. This puts the spotlight on the double standards by Pakistan, which has been actively training Hamas on its soil.

Recently, many Hamas leaders were seen sharing the stage in Pakistan along with of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad when the so-called Kashmir Solidarity Day was observed.

For several months now, Hamas have been in Pakistan. They have been attending training camps that are run by the LeT and JeM.

Intelligence Bureau officials said that the decision to train Hamas by members of the Pakistan Army and ISI is not getting them ready for a battle against Israel.

At this moment, Pakistan would not try to meddle in Palestine because they are aware of what the stand of the US is on the issue.

The ISI has taken in Hamas and trained them so that they can be used in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, India, and Bangladesh.

The Pakistan Army is having a hard time dealing with the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP).

The army has faced huge and embarrassing losses at the hands of these outfits and hence is looking for backing from the Hamas.

Roping in the LeT or JeM to fight against the TTP and BLA is not an option.

Many cadres of these outfits share a good rapport with the Taliban and hence would not want to indulge in a battle, especially against the TTP.

Further, the ISI wants the LeT and JeM to be engaged in Jammu and Kashmir and not elsewhere. While all these outfits are training together, the jurisdiction has been drawn by the ISI.

Hamas would not be allowed to battle in Jammu and Kashmir and would instead focus on taking on the BLA and TTP.

The ISI also has plans to deploy Hamas members in Bangladesh so that they can carry out strikes in the northeastern states.

Terror groups in Bangladesh, such as the Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami (HuJI) and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JuMB), are capable of carrying out strikes, but their cadres are not battle-hardened like Hamas.

The presence of Hamas in Pakistan is not a new development. Its leaders have been visiting Pakistan since 2024.

Since then, its leaders have been addressing conferences relating to both Israel and Kashmir.

Intelligence reports also state that Hamas leaders, at the behest of the ISI, have also visited Bangladesh on numerous occasions. The primary intention is to destabilise India, and the ISI is trying to take advantage of the capabilities that Hamas has. It would want Hamas to launch rocket attacks on India, like it did with Israel.

Hamas has displayed such capabilities, and hence, the ISI is cultivating it as a major asset against India.

An official said that this is typical of Pakistan to backstab allies. On one hand, Pakistan has been tom-tomming about a newfound ally in the US, and on the other hand, it harbours a terror group that works against Washington's interests. In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Pakistan joined the war against terror along with the United States.

However, Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind of the deadly attacks, whom the US was looking for, was given refuge in Pakistan.

--IANS

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