KHAD-KGB campaign in Pakistan

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KHAD-KGB campaign in Pakistan
Part of the Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan and Operation Cyclone
Location
All over Pakistan particularly Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Faisalabad, Multan, and Quetta
Result

KhAD-KGB operational inconclusivity

Belligerents

 Soviet Union Soviet Union

Afghanistan Democratic Republic of Afghanistan

Al-Zulfikar

Pakistan Pakistan

Supported by
United States United States

Units involved

Soviet Union Soviet Armed Forces

Afghanistan Democratic Republic of Afghanistan

  • KHAD
    • 10th Directorate
Al-Zulfikar

 Pakistan

Supported by
 United States

Casualties and losses
Unknown

334+ killed (mostly civilians)

1000+ injured

The KhAD-KGB campaign in Pakistan was a joint campaign in which the Afghan KhAD’s foreign "Tenth Directorate"[2] and the Soviet KGB targeted Pakistan using prostitution spy rings, terror attacks, hijackings, serial killings, assassinations and the dissemination of propaganda to dissuade Pakistan from supporting the Afghan Mujahideen.[3]

Prostitution spy rings[edit]

In mid-1985 the Soviet Union and Kabul launched psychological warfare against Pakistan in an attempt to morally destabilize society. As part of this strategy, the KGB and KHAD deployed hundreds of young girls of Afghan, Central Asian, and Russian origin to corrupt Pakistani society. This influx initially targeted the major urban centers such as Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Faisalabad, Multan, and Quetta.[4] These groups of prostitutes strategically selected affluent areas in these cities and operated within a well-organized structure. Many of these prostitutes had connections to KGB and KHAD agents, with high-ranking government officials and Pakistan army officers being their primary targets.[5] This led to the emergence of a "galemjum (prostitute) culture" in Pakistani society, which attracted professionals, the local commercial class, and frustrated youth in various urban centers.

Terror attacks[edit]

According to a report by the US Defense Department, approximately 90% of the estimated 777 acts of international terrorism committed worldwide in 1987 took place in Pakistan.[6] By 1988, KGB and KhAD agents were able to penetrate deep inside Pakistan and carry out attacks on mujahideen sanctuaries and guerrilla bases.[7] There was strong circumstantial evidence implicating Moscow-Kabul in the August 1988 assassination of Zia ul-Haq, as the Soviets perceived that Zia wanted to adversely affect the Geneva process.[8]

Afghanistan's KHAD was one of four secret service agencies accused of perpetrating terrorist bombings in multiple Pakistani cities including Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi during the early 1980s resulting in hundreds of civilian casualties.[9] By the late 1980s, the US State Department blamed WAD for the perpetration of terrorist bombings in Pakistani cities.[10][11]

1987 Karachi car bombing[edit]

Main article: 1987 Karachi car bombing

On 14 July 1987 two vehicles drove into the Bohri Bazaar in Karachi, Pakistan packed with RDX and parked. The first car bomb detonated at about 6:30 pm outside a hairdresser's shop on Syedna Burhanuddin Street near a bus stop destroying eight shops and a hotel. The second car bomb detonated 30 minutes later on Raja Ghazanfar Ali Road which is about 100 yards away from the first car bombing.[12] The car bomb detonated outside a record shop, setting multiple buildings on fire and destroying more dozen cars. The fires from the second car bomb continued burning for four hours. The double car bombing killed 72 people and injured 250. The Pakistani government blamed the Afghan intelligence agency for the car bombing.

US Peshawar consulate bombing[edit]

A car bombing occurred in 1987, targeting the US consulate in Peshawar which ended up killing over 30 people.[13]

1988 Ojhri Camp disaster[edit]

Main article: Ojhri Camp disaster

On 10 April 1988, the Ojhri Camp, which was used as an ammunition depot for the Afghan mujahideen during the Soviet-Afghan war, exploded. As a result, munitions and rockets expelled by the blast killed 93 people and wounded 1,010 others, although it’s believed the death toll was much higher.[14][15] U.S. Defense Department officials believed that the explosion at Ojhri Camp was the work of the Soviet KGB and the Afghan KhAD state intelligence agency.

Aid to Al-Zulfikar[edit]

Main article: Pakistan International Airlines Flight 326

Pakistan International Airlines Flight 326 was a domestic scheduled passenger flight that was hijacked by al-Zulfikar terrorists with support of Afghanistan's KHAD, from 2 March to 14 March 1981.[16] It was a routine flight scheduled from Karachi to Peshawar, but the hijackers diverted it to Kabul, Afghanistan, and then Damascus, where the hostage situation ended with the release of prisoners by the Pakistani government.

The Hathora murders of Karachi[edit]

Around some time in 1985, Pakistani police in Karachi were becoming alarmed by an increased number of killings. While the murders took place in different areas of the city, an investigation found these murders to be done in the same manner; a single blow to the head with a hathora (the word for "hammer" in Urdu). Upon investigation of the victims and their backgrounds, it was found that they were all street urchins or beggars on the streets.

None of the victims of the Hathora group survived apart from one person, who described the murderers as men in "white suits and black masks" who drove a white Suzuki vehicle. Upon realization that these murders were being committed by a group. newspapers across the nation began to report the victim's story and referred to these men as "the Hathora Group" oweing to their method of using hammers to murder their victims. Police didn't know who these men were and what motives they had to do commit these murders. For a while, these cases of murders stopped and then finally resumed around some time in mid-1986. For nearly 2 years, the city of Karachi was terrorised by the horrors of such group, with civilians fearing they would enter their homes and be killed by the Hathora group.

Some Pakistani newspapers alluded that the Hathora group was actually made up of members of the Soviet intelligence agency, the KGB, and KHAD, who were striking back due to the Pakistani government backing the Afghan mujahideen against the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.[17] A sociologist, when asked about these killings, mentioned that the chaos that was occurring in Karachi was easily manipulated by groups for their own motives. The sociologist strongly believed that these killings were planned to spread more fear in the city, which could be the intention of KHAD and the motive behind the murders.

Aftermath[edit]

In response to these attacks, Pakistan intensified Operation Cyclone which eventually resulted in the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. In 1989, Pakistan would commence “Operation Jalalabad”,[18] widely known as the Battle of Jalalabad, resulting in a decisive Afghan government victory.[19]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "TERRORISM REVIEW FOR 13 JANUARY 1987 | CIA FOIA (foia.cia.gov)". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  2. ^ "RAND_MG1078" (PDF). www.rand.org. 2011.
  3. ^ "Afghanistan – Security Services in Communist Afghanistan (1978–1992). AGSA, KAM, KhAD and WAD". Refworld. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  4. ^ "The Herald". September 1992. pp. 23–28.
  5. ^ "Asia Week". July 1985. pp. 9–11.
  6. ^ "International Herald Tribune". December 1987. p. 3.
  7. ^ "Prime Minister Mohammad Khan Junejo warned today Pakistan would..." 28 February 1987.
  8. ^ Hilali, A Z. "Costs & Benefits of Afghan War for Pakistan" (PDF). Archived from the original on 17 April 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. ^ Brumley, Bryan (2 April 1988). "Afghan Spy Agency Wages Terror Campaign in Pakistan". Associated Press.
  10. ^ Kaplan, Robert D. (23 August 1989). "How Zia's Death Helped the U.S". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 January 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  11. ^ Pear, Robert (25 June 1989). "F.B.I. Allowed to Investigate Crash That Killed Zia". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 15 March 2010. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  12. ^ "Bombs in Pakistan kill 67, injure 300". The Chicago tribune wire. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ "Pakistan Refuses To Release 1988 Blast Reports To - Pakistani Military & Strategic Discussion Forum - Pakistani Defence Forum". 2015-02-27. Archived from the original on 2015-02-27. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  15. ^ https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/17/world/us-officials-link-pakistan-blast-to-kabul-regime.html
  16. ^ Coll, Steve (February 24, 2002). "Spies, Lies and the Distortion of History". The Washington Post.
  17. ^ Paracha, Nadeem F. (2015-04-26). "Hathora Group: Karachi's first terror". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  18. ^ Nasir, Abbas. "The legacy of Pakistan's Hamid Gul". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  19. ^ "A Tale of Two Afghan Armies | Small Wars Journal". smallwarsjournal.com. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
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