ISI's New Terror Blueprint: Local Cells in J&K, Bangladesh Support Amid India Alert

Officials say that it would take very long for these groups to recoup before they try and begin operations in Jammu and Kashmir. Currently, the ISI has a different strategy in mind. It is in the process of trying to build a massive network of over ground workers (OGW) in Jammu and Kashmir.

The ISI wants to limit the number of Pakistani terrorists in India and focus more on the locals. While the idea is to make terror in Jammu and Kashmir look like an internal issue, this change in strategy also reduces the risks that infiltrations pose.

Post Operation Sindoor, almost every attempt at infiltration has been foiled by the Indian armed forces. Those waiting at the launchpads have also stopped making attempts at least for now, says another official.

The chatter picked by the Intelligence agencies clearly point towards the activation of locals modules in Jammu and Kashmir.

During the conversations, locals who are on the pay rolls of the ISI are told constantly to find more youth and build a massive network of OGWs in Jammu and Kashmir.

Further, the ISI wants more modules on the lines of the one that was busted in Hyderabad. An Intelligence Bureau official says that according to their analysis, the ISI is working towards making terror a completely a localised issue in India. It would look to carry out more and more attacks using only Indians, so that the trail does not lead back to Islamabad.

Officials say that the ISI basically wants India to witness what it did during the period when the Indian Mujahideen was active. These inputs that have been picked up the agencies has put the security mechanism on very high alert. The police across the country have been advised to keep a close watch on suspicious activities.

Further former members of groups such as the Popular Front of India (PFI) are under the scanner as there is information that revival attempts of the banned outfit are being made.

Security officials say that the ISI is reducing activities along the borders with both Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir for now. Pakistan is largely focused on creating massive OGW network, it is also trying to set up scores of modules across the country.

Intelligence agencies say that this is however not the only problem. ISI related activity in Bangladesh has increased multi-fold since Muhammad Yunus took charge. The ISI has instructed Lashkar-e-Taiba chief, Hafiz Saeed and Jaish-e-Mohammad boss, Masood Azhar to ramp up activity in Bangladesh in a big way.

The ISI has been bringing the terror groups in Bangladesh and Pakistan together. The agency wants these groups to work together and carry out strikes in India with a particular focus on the northeastern states and West Bengal.

The ISI wants both Azhar and Saeed to be more involved in the Bangladesh operations. While Saeed has already started work on this, Azhar is yet to do so. The ISI also is planning on sending both these terrorists to Bangladesh in the near future to interact with the cadres and boost their morale. The Lashkar-e-Tayiba, in fact in a build up to the visit by Saeed recently sent a close aide of his to Bangladesh.

The ISI feels that if the Lashkar-e-Taiba or the Jaish-e-Mohammad is able to attack India from Bangladesh, then it would also act as a morale booster for the cadres of these two terror groups based in Pakistan. Following Operation Sindoor, the morale of these cadres has been down and their chiefs are finding it very hard to turn that around.

The Indian agencies have their task cut out with Pakistan getting desperate in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor. Officials are keeping a close watch on activities of the ISI, not just within the country, but on the border with Bangladesh.

vicky/pgh

- IANS