The Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Gen Zubair Mahmood Hayat, on Tuesday alleged that India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) had established a cell in 2015 dedicated to sabotaging China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects in Pakistan.

While addressing a seminar in Islamabad, Gen Hayat revealed that: "RAW established a new cell with a special allocation of over $500 million in 2015 to sabotage CPEC projects [in Pakistan]."

"India's indirect interference in Pakistan is manifested in sponsoring Tehreek-i-Taliban-Pakistan, Baloch and other sub-nationalist outfits and many other terrorist groups," he added.

"India has set up a Balochistan operational cell under RAW to devise a radical force for subversion and terrorist activities in the province," Gen Hayat further revealed, adding that the arrest of Kulbushan Jadhav from Balochistan had been the "proverbial smoking gun" in the matter.

Speaking about India's growing aggression toward's Pakistan, he said: "I believe India continues to engage Pakistan through an asymmetric strategy and ploys."

He added: "It is even making an endeavour to subsume conventional methods, such as surgical strikes — phantom or otherwise — into the realm of sub-conventional war."

"Add to this India's growing [military] force and 80 per cent Pakistan-centric force potential — India is playing with fire," Gen Zubair concluded.

Talking about establishing lasting peace in South Asia, Gen Hayat said that the road to peace in the region leads through Kashmir and that bypassing the issue will only hinder the peace process.