Colonel Habib Zahir missing from Nepal is in Indian agencies custody: Indian Media
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NEW DELHI: The mysterious disappearance of the Pakistan Army ex Colonel seems to be resolving as Indian media had made claims about the arrest of the Pakistan Army former Colonel Habib Zahir.
Muhammad Habib Zahir, the former Pakistan Army colonel who recently disappeared from Lumbini near Nepal’s border with India, is now suspected to be in Indian custody, according to media reports.
The Indian Express, quoting its sources in the security establishment, said in a report Wednesday that Indian agencies had been on Zahir’s trail for long. Last seen in Lumbini, Zahir was in the team that nabbed Indian Naval Commander Kulbhushan Yadav in March 2016 on espionage charges, it added.
Jadhav, in pursuit of targets set by his RAW handlers, was arrested last year, when he attempted to cross over into the country from the Saravan border in Iran. He was sentenced to death by the FGCM on April 10, 2017.
According to the latest report, the Pakistan military court’s decision to award the death penalty to Jadhav was tied to the disappearance of Zahir.
“Zahir was at the Indo-Nepal border last week. He was in the team that had trailed Jadhav. There is definitely a connection between the two cases,” an Indian officer said.
“No sooner did the Pakistani authorities learn of Zahir’s disappearance, Jadhav was pronounced guilty of being a spy. The purpose is clear. They didn’t want any Indian agency to go public,” the officer was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
“Zahir retired from the Pakistan Army on in 2014 but was said to have been engaged thereafter by the ISI for its covert operations. In 2015, he picked up conversations between Jadhav and his family members and started tracking him.”
