HYDERABAD, April 30: India wants the United States to establish a military presence in Balochistan so that the former could eventually benefit from this “shield” thanks to “bases given by the latter in Afghanistan”, said Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, chief of the proscribed Jamaat-ud-Dawa, said at a “Difa-i-Pakistan (defence of Pakistan) conference” here on Sunday.

“India wants to use the US as a shield in Afghanistan. Therefore it needs American troop presence in Balochsitan after the pullout from Afghanistan.

“Our government is talking about opening Nato supply lines on humanitarian grounds even though the US has refused to tender even a cosmetic apology over the Salala incident,” the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JD) chief added.

The US had infiltrated CIA operatives across the country and it would now tell the government that since its supplies were not safe, these operatives would handle them, Hafiz Saeed observed.

Talking about the frequent, puzzling disappearance of Nato containers, he said he found only one explanation plausible: the vehicles were used to smuggle weapons into Afghanistan under cover of essential supplies. “We want these supplies to remain closed because they pose a potent threat to Pakistan.”

The JD chief cautioned the government against allowing US to gain a “foothold in Gilgit or Balochistan” as it would enable Washington to control strategic points in China’s neighbourhood. “The US footprint will also put Pakistan-China ties under strain.”

About expansion of trade relations with India, Hafiz Saeed said the government should proceed with caution. “We don’t oppose trade with India and … don’t want to create any hurdles because it is permitted in Islam.

“But Pakistan should not lose sight of India’s hand in the East Pakistan tragedy. We should also remember that India is diverting river waters to its areas through clandestine tunnels.”

Mr Saeed said India was building large dams to store water and release it at will to drown Pakistan whenever it liked. “It’s all being done in violation of the Indus Basin Treaty, which was wrongly signed by Ayub Khan,” he said.

“India is ready to pay tax for its exports to Afghanistan via Pakistan but it does not want anyone to open the containers. I find India’s reluctance to show us its Afghan-bound vegetables and drinks intriguing.”

Hafiz Saeed said he was confident that capitalism would meet the same fate as that of communism after the United States is humbled in Afghanistan. “A new world will be born after that,” he said, assuming a prophetic tone.