Indira Gandhi refused to attack Pakistan’s nuclear plant : Ex-CIA officer

(‘CIA’ stands for ‘Central Intelligence Agency’)

Washington (USA) – According to former CIA officer Richard Barlow, India and Israel proposed a joint operation in the early 1980s to attack Pakistan’s nuclear facility at Kahuta, but then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi did not approve the operation. Richard Barlow called Indira Gandhi’s decision “shameful”.

Action would have solved many problems

Barlow explained that he was not in Government service between 1982 and 1985, but he had come to know about this plan; however, he did not pay serious attention to it at that time. It was unfortunate that Indira Gandhi did not approve this plan. This action would have solved many problems.

America would have objected

Richard Barlow, who served as a “counterintelligence officer” during Pakistan’s covert nuclear activities in the 1980s, said that then-US President Ronald Reagan would have strongly opposed such an attack, especially if it had been carried out by Israel; because at that time the US was conducting a covert war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, and Pakistan was a key US ally. Reagan would have strongly condemned the then Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin.

What was the plan ?

According to intelligence reports and some documents, Israel and India had confirmed a plan to attack Pakistan’s uranium enrichment facility in Kahuta with fighter jets. This enrichment facility was a key hub of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons programme. This operation aimed to prevent Pakistan from developing nuclear weapons.

Editorial Perspectives

• If this claim is true, then clearly it was a mistake. India should have attacked, as is clear from the current situation in Pakistan.
• It cannot be denied that if India had done so, this same America would have strongly opposed it and attacked India.
• It is equally true that if there is a war with Pakistan even today, India will have to take such a decision and attack without hesitation.