Who is Parag Jain, Pakistan expert set to take over as R&AW chief?
Jain has played an operational role during Punjab terrorism days serving in Bhatinda, Mansa, Hoshiarpur and was SSP Chandigarh and DIG Ludhiana in the past.
The Narendra Modi government on Saturday appointed Parag Jain, a 1989-batch IPS officer of Punjab cadre, as the next Secretary of Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) for a term of two years. He succeeds Ravi Sinha who completes his rather lackluster tenure on June 30.
Parag Jain is currently heading the Aviation Research Centre, which played a vital role during Operation Sindoor, by collecting intelligence about Pakistani armed forces and terror camp locations.
Who is Parag Jain
Jain has played an operational role during Punjab terrorism days serving in Bhatinda, Mansa, Hoshiarpur and was SSP Chandigarh and DIG Ludhiana in the past. He has handled Pakistan in India’s external intelligence agency with tenures in Jammu and Kashmir during abrogation of Article 370 and Operation Balakote. An unassuming officer, Parag Jain has served in Canada and in Sri Lanka as Indian representative.
During the Canada posting, he had also taken on the Khalistan ecosystem there and had repeatedly warned Delhi that it was morphing into something dangerous.
Even as Parag Jain takes over from Ravi Sinha on Monday, India’s external intelligence needs a revamp as it has been found wanting during Maldives and Bangladesh crisis in the past two years.
The failure to anticipate the dastardly strike at Pahalgam on April 22, 2025, was noted with concern despite then Pakistan Army chief spewing hatred against Hindus and calling Kashmir the jugular vein of Pakistan.
The R&AW’s role becomes very important considering the fact that Asim Munir has become a Field Marshal with cross border terrorism against India high on his agenda.
Given that India has suspended the Indus Water Treaty, Pakistan will use terrorism to strike back at India and for that India’s external Intelligence needs to improve ground intelligence rather than purely rely on technical intelligence.
