Terror at the high seas : #pakistan forays into piracy #terrorism

In a worrying development, the Pakistani Captain of MV Suez (an Egyptian ship), a so called Pakistani charity organisation, sea pirates, the Pakistani Navy and the Pakistani government have been colluding to play a game of one-upmanship with India. This pattern coincides with the Pakistani terror game which once began to counter Indian Army and is now a global phenomenon. This time, Pakistan’s irregular army/navy are the pirates.

Pakistani pirates are not a new phenomenon. In February 2008, there were news reports of Pakistani pirates attacking Indian fishermen near Porbandar. In September 2009, the Indian Navy said that Somali Pirates were using weapons that had been manufactured in Pakistan. INS Mysore had reported the Pakistani link to Somali pirates. The evidence was found during an action against pirate ship Salahuddin. The rocket-propelled grenade launcher, the rifles and the ammunition seized aboard the vessel bore the markings of Pakistan’s Ordinance Factory. In addition some Pakistani nationals were caught with Somali pirates, indicating that Pakistanis have begun penetrating the Somali Piracy domain.

There is increased attack on ships which have Indian seamen abroad and the Somali Pirates allegedly withheld the Indian seamen as hostage, even after the ransom had been paid. However, the Indians were not held back in the MV Suez case. This clearly shows the Pakistani involvement via its infamous external intelligence agency, the ISI and the terror outfits it controls. If one remembers, Muhammad Ajmal Amir Kasab – the lone captured terrorist of the Mumbai terror attack (November 26, 2008, also known as 26/11) – had told investigators that he was trained by Pakistan Marines, an elite unit of the Pakistan Navy. US agencies investigating David Coleman Headley (who surveyed Indian targets for the Mumbai attacks), had put it on record that Pakistani Navy, at the behest of the Pakistan intelligence agency Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) had trained the Mumbai attackers. Similarly, Indian intelligence reports in September 2006 mention that the ISI was facilitating training of close to 150 LeT operatives in sea guerrilla warfare.

In the MV Suez case, the Pakistani establishment and its collusion with the Pakistani non-state actors is evidently visible. As per the plot, an MV Suez with the Captain being a Pakistani national and Indians as crew was hijacked by pirates. A Pakistani charity, usually used as legal fronts by Pakistani terror organisations, paid the ransom. It was again attacked and a Pakistani Naval Ship – PNS Babur – was conveniently available close to the hijacked ship. The press- release by the Indian Navy accuses PNS Babur of performing dangerous manoeuvres and putting in danger the Indian Naval Ship – INS Godavari and its crew, when it arrived to take over the escorting on MV Suez. Strangely, the Egyptian vessel which was under the command of the Pakistani captain did not respond to INS Godavari’s calls, as it sought to establish contact with MV Suez.

The involvement of Pakistan, via its non-state terror machinery is an indicator to the future of piracy on high seas. It is time, the world stands up and takes note.