‘India recruited three Afghan warlords against Pakistan’

NEW DELHI: The notorious Indian spy outfit, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), had recruited three powerful warlords, including Ahmad Shah Massoud, in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion, a new book on India's external spy agency has said.

The book 'RAW: A History of India’s Covert Operations' by investigative journalist Yatish Yadav, however, did not disclose the identity of the two other warlords, as they still occupy positions in Afghanistan politics, foreign media reported.

At least three RAW spies involved in covert action in Afghanistan have claimed that Afghan armed forces were "demoralised and divided, remained practically inactive" during the Soviet army’s December 1979 invasion, the book, which was released on Monday, said.

The book, which provides details of RAW operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere, said that the mujahideen sought to fill this gap aided by the Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agents. The US' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)'s partnership with the ISI was a "serious concern" for India and the RAW needed allies to counter the unlikely partnership of the mujahideens and the Pakistani spy agency.

“India’s concerns related to Afghanistan were manifold but at least two issues agitated the spies: the training of mujahideen … and the unhindered arms supply by the US to the Pakistan Army,” the book said.