NEW DELHI: In the wake of a disclaimer from the Pakistan high commission that Intikhab Ahmad Zia and Habibullah were not agents of Inter-Services Intelligence (IST) Indian official sources maintained that there was evidence to show that the two were indeed ISI operatives.
While Indian authorities stood by their version that Zia had not followed the ISIs instructions to keep in contact with the Pakistan IB officers in Kathmanda the Press release issued by the Pakistan high commission makes said it had made repeated enquiries about Zia “following his failure to contact his family in Pakistan.”
While the Pakistan high commission accused the Indian authorities for disinformation and rejected the “crude and transparent attempt” by the Indian authorities to project them as ISI agents the Indian side blamed Pakistan for their crude attempts to forge unity among the Sikh and Kashmir militants and Muslim fundamentalists to promote violence in various parts of India. India rejected the Pakistani claim that the two men either died in custody under intense torture or were killed in a fake encounter.
Article extracted from this publication >> November 13, 1992
