Did India-Israel Plan Covert Op to Blow Up Pakistan’s Nuclear Site? Ex-CIA Officer’s Bombshell Claim on Indira Gandhi

New Delhi: Ex-CIA officer Richard Barlow has made a bombshell claim that India and Israel had proposed a joint covert operation to blow up Pakistan’s nuclear site in Kahuta in the early 1980s, aiming to destroy

Islamabad’s dream of becoming an atomic power. However, the plan was disapproved by the then government in New Delhi.Barlow called the decision of the Indian government, led by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, a "shame" adding that had they gone ahead, it could have "solved a lot of problems".In an interview with ANI, Barlow, a former CIA member, American spy, and counterproliferation officer during Pakistan’s clandestine nuclear activities in the 1980s, claimed that he had heard of the reported plan within intelligence circles.However, he wasn’t directly involved, as he was out of government service during that period."I was out of government from 1982 until 1985. And I think that may have occurred while I was out of government. I heard about it at some point. But I didn't get my teeth into it because it never happened," Barlow said."It’s a shame that Indira Gandhi didn’t approve it, it would have solved a lot of problems," Barlow added.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbM3ZxxcttU

What Was India-Israel Covert Operation to Bomb Pakistan’s Nuclear Programme?

ANI quoted reports and declassified accounts that Israel and India allegedly planned a preemptive airstrike on Pakistan's Kahuta uranium enrichment plant -- the core of its nuclear programme -- to prevent Islamabad from developing and proliferating nuclear weapons, particularly to Iran, which is regarded as a grave adversary by Israel.

How Would the Then US President Have Reacted if India-Israel Had Gone Ahead with Covert Plan

Former CIA officer Barlow suggested that the US administration at the time, under then-President Ronald Reagan, would have strongly opposed any such strike, particularly from Israel, as it could have disrupted America's covert war effort against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.According to Barlow, Pakistan exploited this dependency as leverage, with officials like Munir Ahmad Khan, former head of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), warning the US lawmakers, such as Stephen Solarz, that disrupting aid flows would jeopardise cooperation on Afghanistan.

"I think Reagan would have cut Menachem Begin's ba**s off if he did anything like that. Because it would have interfered with the Afghan problem," Barlow remarked, referring to the former Israeli Prime Minister's potential involvement."As you alluded to, what Munir Khan said was that they were basically using the flow of covert aid to the Mujahideen as blackmail. I think that's what Munir was saying to (US Congressman Stephen Solarz) -- if you pull aid, we're not going to support the Mujahideen anymore," Barlow added.

What is Pakistan's Kahuta Nuclear Facility

The Kahuta enrichment facility, established under the direction of Pakistan's architect of nuclear programme and a prolific proliferator, AQ Khan, later became central to Pakistan's successful pursuit of nuclear weapons, culminating in its 'first' atomic tests in 1998.With inputs from ANI