Former CIA acting director Michael Morell has alleged that Pakistan perceives India as a threat to its existence and uses terrorism as a tool against the country. He made this startling revelation in a podcast discussion with Kurt Campbell and Rich Verma.
Morell asserted that Pakistan is one of the most dangerous countries in the world and supports terrorist groups as a tool.
Campbell, former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs and Verma, former US Ambassador to India, have regularly been hosting ‘The Tealeaves’ Podcast of the Asia Group.
“What they don’t realize is that it’s impossible to keep those terrorist groups under control. And that eventually comes back to bite you. You know, I believe that Pakistan, at the end of the day, maybe the most dangerous country in the world,” he said.
Notably, Morell played a key role in the killing of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Laden was on the most-wanted list for masterminding a deadly terrorist attack in the United States on September 11, 2011. These attacks had that left as many as 2,296 people dead and injured over 6,000 others.
He also underlined his concern on population explosion in Pakistan and termed it the cause of awful demographic changes.
Morell who was the deputy head of CIA during Obama’s tenure added, “The economy’s going nowhere. It simply can’t provide the jobs that need to be provided for the young people who are entering the labor force. The education system is literally broken. I went to Pakistan more often than I went to any other country when I was deputy director.”
Divulging further, he said that extremism in Pakistan was growing from a societal perspective and had found a footing within the military too. He also expressed his apprehensions about a color revolution much like Arab-spring style movement that could hit the streets of Islamabad within a few years (possibly 10 years) from now. He hinted that such an agitation could end up with an extremist government in control of nuclear weapons and that is scary.
He further added that Pakistan has focused on India for too long and has organized its system accordingly. In order to protect itself from the perceived threat, they have vested more powers in the military than the civilian government.
“The government, therefore, makes choices that I don’t believe, and many people don’t believe are in the best long term interest of Pakistan. Pakistan has spent more money on nuclear weapons than they do in education,” the former spymaster added.
He also held Pakistan responsible for creating terrorists in Afganistan fearing India’s influence in the region.
India has long been accusing Pakistan of fueling terrorism from its soil against it. In the wake of recent Pulwama attack, The United States of America had issued a stern warning to Pakistan urging it to take concrete actions against Islamic terror groups including the Jaish-e-Mohammad and the Lashkar-e-Taiba.
