Contradicting perceived proximity to the Soviet Union in the Cold War era, India under the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had toyed with the idea of supporting anti-Russian civilian groups in Pakistan if the then Zia regime was thrown out by Moscow, a recent declassified CIA document has claimed.
“New Delhi regards Pakistan as a strategic buffer against the USSR and would oppose Moscow’s effort to dominate Pakistan. New Delhi and Moscow would find themselves supporting rival factions within Pakistan,” said the report, according to which Moscow had plans to change the regime in Pakistan and extend its influence beyond Afghanistan.
Six months later when Gandhi was planning to meet General Zia on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York, the CIA analyzed that the then Indian Prime Minister, despite his strong public views on Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program, was unlikely to push him hard on it.
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