New Delhi, Oct 12 (SocialNews.XYZ) Nepal's iconic Annapurna Circuit is showing signs of recovery after weeks of disruption caused by floods, landslides, and heavy rain and snowfall, according to a media report from Kathmandu.

Tourist arrivals on this circuit are picking up, with around 150 to 200 visitors now arriving daily at the tourist check and information centre in Dharapani, reported The Himalayan Times on Monday.

Located at a height of about 1,900 metres, Dharapani in northern Nepal is among important locations for travel enthusiasts to obtain permits for trekking at either the Manaslu Circuit or Annapurna Circuit.

Tourist arrivals have risen at the Dharapani tourist check and information centre after trail-clearing operations reopened access across the route, including the critical Thorong La Pass at 5,416 meters, stated the report. The number had briefly fallen to just one or two trekkers per day as severe weather blocked roads and trekking paths across the Manang region, it added.

Incidentally, the Annapurna Circuit is one of Nepal’s most popular trekking routes, winding from Besisahar in Lamjung District through the high-altitude landscapes of Manang, crossing the Thorong La Pass before descending into Mustang.

Renowned for its dramatic Himalayan scenery, diverse ecosystems, and rich cultural heritage, the circuit attracts thousands of adventure travellers from around the world each year. The route is widely regarded as one of the world's premier long-distance treks, drawing visitors seeking a close view of the Annapurna Mountain range and traditional Himalayan communities.

The reported recovery follows a difficult period for Nepal's tourism industry in the aftermath of the Himalayan tragedy, as well as heavy rainfall and snowfall that had blocked roads and trekking trails.

The floods and landslides stranded hundreds of visitors in Manang and forced many trekkers to abandon or postpone their journeys. On-ground reports, quoting authorities, said that sections of roads were washed away, cutting off transportation links and delaying both rescue and restoration efforts.

Tourism is a crucial pillar of Nepal's economy, especially in mountain regions where local livelihoods depend heavily on trekking, with guides, transport operators, accommodation, and other hospitality service providers making their earnings. Thus, when inclement weather-related disasters disrupt access to major destinations such as Annapurna, local businesses experience immediate losses in income and employment opportunities.

The World Bank’s “Nepal Development Update (October 2026)” noted that the August flood is expected to affect the country’s economy “through four primary transmission channels: energy, transportation, trade, and tourism”.

The Nepal News, quoting a Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) report, said that tourism income declined by 2.2 percent in the first 10 months of fiscal year 2025-26 (July 17, 2025, to May 14, 2026), while the country’s net service income remained in deficit at Rs 68.22 billion.

The NRB reported that tourism earnings stood at Rs 74.18 billion during the review period, down from Rs 75.83 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

Meanwhile, travel-related expenditure fell by 3.4 per cent to Rs 177.87 billion from Rs 184.22 billion a year earlier, it stated, adding, “However, spending continued to far exceed tourism income, contributing to the deficit in the service account.” Then came the August 26 disaster and the aftermath, following a glacier chunk that collapsed, triggering catastrophic flash floods across districts, largely along the Nepal-Tibet border.

Tourism entrepreneurs quoted by The Himalayan Times expressed optimism that improving trail conditions and restored transportation links will bring more visitors during the peak trekking season, helping mountain communities recover economically after the recent floods and snowfall.

With roads gradually reopening and weather conditions stabilising, officials and local businesses hope the Annapurna region can regain the visitor numbers that once reached 400 to 500 trekkers per day during peak periods.

Source: IANS

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Mumbai, Oct 12 (SocialNews.XYZ) The widespread protests by Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) aspirants in Pune reflect an accumulation of intense frustration, financial strain, and a profound sense of betrayal.

The agitation was initially triggered by severe irregularities and alleged question paper leaks in recent examinations, most notably the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) drug inspector posts exam. Aspirants realised that despite years of grueling preparation, the playing field was fundamentally rigged.

The 11-day protest evolved into a major flashpoint, exposing underlying tensions between student welfare, administrative accountability, and state politics. It primarily erupted in Pune—the educational and competitive coaching hub of Maharashtra—driven by deep-seated anger among thousands of aspirants. Initially, the candidates blamed themselves for missing cut-offs by narrow margins.

When paper leaks and administrative compromises came to light, it shifted the narrative from personal failure to systemic corruption. Protesters demanded a sweeping overhaul, targeting not just isolated elements but calling out deep-seated rot across the organisational hierarchy—from the clerical level to the leadership.

The demonstrators were frustrated by systemic administrative delays, recurring paper leaks, systemic corruption, and opaque selection procedures within the MPSC.

The focal point of the agitation quickly narrowed down to a single demand: the immediate resignation and removal of MPSC Chairman Vivek Bhimanwar, alongside demands to review exam formats (objective versus descriptive). The job aspirants argued that keeping controversial figures in constitutional posts while corruption inquiries were pending would allow evidence to be tampered with.

For millions of youths — particularly from rural and agrarian backgrounds in Maharashtra — clearing the MPSC is seen as the ultimate vehicle for social mobility. Candidates spend years living in modest, crowded accommodations in Pune or Mumbai, often spending tens of thousands of rupees monthly funded by family sacrifices.

The Maharashtra government faced a high-stakes political dilemma, attempting to balance administrative firmness with the urgent need to defuse mounting youth unrest. Early on, the response was marked by bureaucratic rigidity and police pushback, including issuing notices and detaining protesters. Ruling party leaders also attempted to downplay the crisis by attributing the agitation to political opportunism by opposition figures like Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MLA Rohit Pawar.

The state government, led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, faced a delicate balancing act between maintaining administrative protocol and pacifying the agitated youth demographic. As the protest sustained momentum over several days, the government was forced to course-correct. It initially removed the commission’s secretary, Mahendra Harpalkar. He asserted that because the MPSC chairperson holds a constitutional position, direct removal by the Chief Minister or state cabinet is legally restricted under Article 317 of the Constitution, which mandates a formal presidential reference following a Supreme Court inquiry.

To defuse tensions, the government announced a judicial committee/panel headed by a retired judge of the Bombay High Court, Justice Dilip Bhosale, to probe the functioning of board members and allegations tied to the paper leaks.

Incidentally, FDA Commissioner Tukaram Munde has been appointed as the judicial committee's secretary. CM Fadnavis maintained that if an inquiry found the leadership guilty, the state would officially recommend removal to the President.

With pressure mounting, MPSC Chairman Vivek Bhimanwar on Monday at 1.24 am declared on X that he is going on indefinite leave until investigations conclude, addressing a primary demand of the agitators. Following these concessions and commitments to structural reforms, the prolonged multi-day protests formally concluded, though underlying skepticism among student factions remains palpable.

Fadnavis, however, openly criticised the Opposition, claiming that what started as a legitimate student protest had been hijacked by political entities seeking electoral mileage. Opposition leaders, particularly NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) MLA Rohit Pawar and Congress MLA Vishwajeet Kadam, stepped into the vacuum, aggressively championing the students' cause and utilising grassroots pressure tactics.

Rohit Pawar positioned himself as the primary political bridge for the students, visiting protest sites (such as the S M Joshi Bridge in Pune), staging ultimatums, and organising dialogue between delegations and ministers. He initially dismissed the government’s proposed inquiry committee as a "diversionary tactic" and a bureaucratic delay. He argued that leaving the chairman in office during an investigation allows culprits to destroy evidence, and even threatened wider disruptions like a Pune shutdown if demands were not met within tight deadlines.

When local friction arose regarding traffic blockages and police booked participating students, Rohit Pawar strongly condemned the filing of "false FIRs," demanding that cases against students be dropped and redirecting the political heat toward the administration.

As the protest gained momentum, the ruling Mahayuti coalition (particularly the BJP and local leaders) pushed back aggressively against the Opposition's involvement. Ruling party leaders accused Opposition heavyweights (such as the NCP-SP and Shiv Sena-UBT) of exploiting vulnerable students for partisan gains ahead of crucial political cycles. They argued that the Opposition was fuelling unrest rather than allowing administrative solutions to take effect.

Local leaders and opponents of the shutdown threats challenged the opposition, arguing that holding the city of Pune and its citizens "to ransom" through transport blockades and aggressive bandhs crossed the line from student advocacy to urban disruption. Accusations were floated in political circles attempting to discredit the organic nature of the protests, leading to sharp counter-rebukes from student leaders and Opposition leaders, who maintained that the struggles of middle-class and rural aspirants were being unjustly mocked.

While the immediate protests have been called off following the government's concessions, the broader landscape remains fragile. Long-term stability requires addressing deep structural flaws. The credibility of public examinations hinges entirely on tamper-proof execution. Transitioning fully to secure, digitised processes with zero tolerance for manual leak vectors is non-negotiable.

Observers said that rebuilding faith in the MPSC requires transparent, time-bound findings from the promised inquiry committees. If the probes drag on without accountability, student anger risks reigniting.

They further observed that chronic delays in conducting exams, evaluating papers, and declaring results trap candidates in endless loops of uncertainty. Setting and strictly adhering to a predictable annual calendar will reduce the psychological and economic toll on aspirants. MPSC must function as a fiercely independent, transparent body. The interim measures—such as leadership leaves and judicial probes—must translate into permanent institutional safeguards that insulate recruitment from political interference and administrative apathy.

(Sanjay Jog can be contacted at sanjay.j@ians.in)

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 12 (SocialNews.XYZ) The federal government of Pakistan enforced emergency rule across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and authorised military deployment in the province following intense pressure from Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir.

While Islamabad pointed to worsening law and order and a lack of cooperation in counter-terrorism efforts, Pakistan observers viewed the move as a deliberate attempt by the military establishment to gain greater control over the administration and economy of the mineral-rich province.

The experts say the federal government was initially not in favour of this decision.

There had been considerable back and forth over the decision, but Field Marshal Asim Munir, the Pakistan Army chief, ultimately prevailed, leaving the federal government with little choice but to fall in line, experts said.

An official attributed Munir’s uncompromising stand to two key factors.

“First, he wants to bring a region governed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party founded by his nemesis Imran Khan, under his control. Second, Munir seeks complete control over the region and is prepared to deploy the full might of the army to exploit its rich mineral resources,” the official said.

KP’s Chief Minister and PTI leader Sohail Afridi opposed the army’s direct control over the mines and minerals in the region.

The widespread grievance among the people was that revenues generated from the mines and mineral resources, once brought under the army’s control, never reached the people of KP.

“Instead, the proceeds are diverted to Islamabad, Karachi and Rawalpindi, allowing the powerful to benefit from the region’s wealth while its people continue to remain underprivileged,” the official said.

Another official said that the PTI government had strongly opposed the army’s direct control over mines and minerals.

“This had become an obstacle for the army, and it was unable to go about its business. Imposing an emergency and Governor’s rule while also authorising the deployment of the army ensures that the establishment has a field day with no opposition when it comes to the mines and minerals,” the official said.

The prevailing situation in KP also empowers the Governor to make decisions on the region’s mines and mineral resources, as well as determine the extent of force to be deployed there.

The region’s Governor, Faisal Karim Kundi, is widely seen as a close ally of Asim Munir. The PTI has strongly opposed his appointment, describing him as illegitimate, unconstitutional, and politically motivated.

With Faisal Karim Kundi at the helm in KP, the army is expected to have greater influence over the region’s affairs. Acting on Munir’s instructions, Kundi would be responsible for decisions on troop deployment and the management of the region’s mines and mineral resources, the assessment suggests.

The federal government has, however, said that the decision to impose emergency and Governor’s rule was taken owing to the deteriorating law and order situation in the region. It accused the provincial government of failing to cooperate when it came to counterterrorism operations. While this is an audacious move by the army and federal government, there is a chance of the same backfiring.

The army would look to take complete control over the mines and minerals. However, this would empower the insurgent groups in the region, who would step up their attacks on the establishment, an official said.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 12 (SocialNews.XYZ) An event organised by the banned outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) has come under the scrutiny of intelligence agencies.

The SFJ is scheduled to hold a referendum in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on October 18, asking participants to vote on whether a separate Khalistan nation should be carved out of Punjab.

The exercise is unofficial, and the SFJ has organised similar events in the past. Although previous referendums organised by the outfit have reportedly favoured the creation of a separate Khalistan, they have had no official bearing on India's territorial integrity or sovereignty.

India rejects the demand as illegal and unconstitutional, and the exercises have not translated into any formal political process for the creation of a separate state. Even other countries know that the demand is meaningless and illegal.

An official said that although similar referendums have been held in the past, the agencies are keeping a close eye on the October 18 event in Canada.

It is being held at a time when the province of Alberta will hold a province-wide 2026 Alberta Referendum.

Voters would ask if Alberta should remain a province of Canada or begin the legal process towards a future that would be separate from Canada.

Further, the SFJ event also comes at a time when outfits such as the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) have put out a long roadmap for attacks in Punjab ahead of and during the elections, the official said.

The SFJ is trying to gain maximum traction out of this event. Further, it hopes that the event and the referendum could be used as a recruitment tool by the BKI in Punjab.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that there has been a worrying turn of events in Punjab.

The Inter Services Intelligence-backed elements that include Khalistani terror groups and narcotic cartels run by them from Pakistan have clearly upped the ante against the Indian security agencies.

“Drone drops with ammunition and narcotics have gone up manifold. Further, the BKI has been targeting women recruits to gather information and also to pick up the arms and narcotics that are being dropped by the drones,” the official said.

Latest intelligence inputs analysed clearly point towards several worrying developments in Punjab. The SFJ and BKI are working overtime to speed up recruitments.

“They are also looking to set up an all-women’s wing for Punjab. These women would be tasked with undertaking surveillance, laying honey-traps, and moving consignments comprising arms, ammunition, and narcotics across the state. The proceeds of the same are meant to revive and fund the Khalistan movement,” the official said.

Another official said that the timing of the referendum is also critical.

The SFJ wants to club this event along with the referendum scheduled for October 19 by the Parti Québécois, which will form the next government in Quebec.

SFJ chief and proscribed terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has invited leaders of the party to attend the so-called referendum on October 18.

“The SFJ wants to club the two issues and try and send out a picture that both are making legally valid demands,” the official said.

While sending out the invitation, Pannun reportedly said, “Whether it is the people of Alberta determining Alberta’s political future or Sikhs determining Punjab’s political future, the fundamental democratic principle is the same: the political future of a people should be determined by the people.”

“On October 18, Sikhs vote on Punjab. On October 19, Albertans vote on Alberta’s political future. Different peoples and different constitutional circumstances, but political questions should be settled democratically,” he added.

For the Indian security agencies, the focus is completely on Punjab, and all measures are being taken to beat down every modus operandi of both the BKI and SFJ before the elections.

If they get away now and the agencies let their guard down, then we would be staring at a very serious problem when the election process gets underway in Punjab next year, an official said.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 10 (SocialNews.XYZ) Al-Qaeda is seeking to expand its footprint in India and the subcontinent through its arm Al-Qaeda in the Sub-Continent (AQIS) by promoting a pan-Islamist approach, encouraging Bangladesh-based terror outfits to spawn splinter groups, and building tactical ties with groups across sectarian lines, according to security officials.

AQIS was launched in 2014 with the primary goal of focusing on India and the countries around it. However, the announcement was made at a time when the Islamic State was on top of its game, and this acted as a major deterrent to AQIS's ambitions.

Security analysts have observed a gradual but potentially dangerous shift in the AQIS strategy, with the outfit increasingly advocating pan-Islamism. The approach seeks to avoid open opposition to any particular sect or sub-sect and instead promote a broader, more inclusive ideological appeal to expand its support base.

An official said that this push being made by Al-Qaeda, especially in the sub-continent, is dangerous.

“AQIS was formed by merging several smaller regional jihadi groups from Bangladesh, Myanmar and India. However, these groups failed to expand significantly despite subscribing to Al-Qaeda’s ideology, largely because of stiff competition from the Islamic State. The latter does not subscribe to the concept of pan-Islamism and opposes various sects and sub-sects, making its approach less inclusive,” the official said.

Another official said that in the sub-continent, Al Qaeda wants to conduct the Africa experiment.

In Africa, where Al-Qaeda has established a strong presence, it avoided declaring war on particular sects and sub-sects. This enabled the outfit to forge closer ties with local groups, which in turn helped strengthen its network across the region.

“Al-Qaeda took a cue from the Islamic State, which committed the mistake of declaring war on every local sect and sub-sect. This shortened the Islamic State’s lifespan as a dominant force and led to its gradual decline in several parts of the world,” the official said.

The focus of Al-Qaeda is currently on the terror groups that are operating out of Bangladesh. The Jammat-ul Mujahideen (JMB) is its biggest ally. The JMB witnessed a split when a faction supported the Islamic State and then went on to become the Neo-JMB.

Al-Qaeda has been encouraging the JMB to create multiple groups such as the Imam Mahmuder Kafila (IMK), which has focused its activities in India.

Al-Qaeda wants groups such as the JMB, Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) and Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B) to create more splinter groups and ensure that they subscribe only to the ideology that it preaches.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that this suits Al-Qaeda.

“Groups such as the JMB, ABT and HuJI-B already have manpower and operational strength. Al-Qaeda, on the other hand, will continue to act as an ideological mentor to these groups. Further, the creation of these multiple splinter groups will confuse the Indian agencies, while also giving the parent groups the deniability factor,” the official said.

Al-Qaeda feels that it needs to have this pan-Islamist approach. Such a strategy would have a much bigger draw for the outfit.

In the sub-continent, it has decided to create safe havens and also maintain tactical cooperation with Shia groups. These groups, in turn, help Al-Qaeda with both logistical and survival needs, officials say.

Officials said Al-Qaeda is seeking to establish a strong base in India. Its founder, Osama bin Laden, had built the outfit’s doctrine around targeting the ‘far enemy’, a reference to the West.

The outfit now wants to adopt a similar strategy in the subcontinent and has been urging its allies to pursue a more inclusive approach to widen their support base. It is keen to avoid the mistakes made by the Islamic State, which alienated potential allies by targeting various sects and sub-sects.

The Islamic State came with a bang, put on a brutal show, and even captured a wide audience in India. The outfit even radicalised over 20 youths from Kerala and convinced them to join the outfit in Afghanistan.

Many Indians, who had left the country to join the outfit in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, immediately became disillusioned.

The Islamic State is extremely violent, and the Indians who joined the outfit complained about discrimination and also about having to do menial jobs.

Al-Qaeda wants to change that and hopes that the inclusive approach that it seeks to take will work wonders for it in the sub-continent, with India being the primary target, an official said.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 10 (SocialNews.XYZ) The increasing frequency of drone intrusions from Pakistan, used to smuggle arms, ammunition, and narcotics into Indian territory, has emerged as a major security challenge, with agencies struggling to cope with the sheer number of drones being sent across the border.

Security officials say smugglers in the neighbouring country are deploying multiple drones in quick succession to overwhelm interception systems, hoping that at least one carrying a large payload will evade detection.

Indian security agencies have intensified efforts to shoot down or drive away drones as soon as they are sighted.

Compared with two years ago, the technology being used by security agencies has improved considerably, with officials estimating the advancement at nearly 50 notches.

However, these improvements have not been sufficient, and India’s national security planners believe that further technological upgrades will be required periodically.

An official said that the security agencies do have the technology to shoot down or drive away these drones.

The problem the border agencies are facing is that too many drones are being sent, and this has overwhelmed the system. The arms and ammunition and narcotic smugglers have adopted a new tactic of late.

They first send a drone as a test case. Within minutes, a second drone follows with a smaller quantity of drugs. Shortly after that drone is shot down, another one carrying a larger quantity appears. These are the drones that usually manage to evade interception.

“This is a clear tactic that has been adopted by Pakistan-based smugglers to stress the Indian security system,” the official said.

Another official said residents of several Indian villages along the Pakistan border had reported frequent sightings of drones in the area.

Villagers have told security agencies that another drone often appears soon after one is intercepted and shot down. They have also reported that such sightings are becoming increasingly frequent.

“The security agencies are working on upgrades continuously to tackle the ever-evolving menace of drones,” the official said.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that compared with Punjab, the number of drone sightings in Jammu and Kashmir has been lower.

However, these smugglers are gradually increasing the number of drones that they propose to send into J&K. There was an urgent need to drop arms and ammunition to help revive terror groups, the official said.

Further, the narcotics that would be dropped using drones are meant to fund terror, the official added.

Between 2025 and 2026, Jammu and Kashmir reported nine drone intrusions. The focus for now has been on small arms payloads such as pistols and cash along with smaller quantities of high-grade narcotics. These were meant to fund local handlers and sustain local terror groups.

The situation in Punjab has been considerably worse. A total of 854 drone intrusions were recorded across the Punjab and Rajasthan sectors.

As many as 474 drones were brought down or recovered, and 777 kg of heroin was recovered from the drone-assisted drops, while over 200 firearms, both automatic rifles and modular weapons, were seized.

Further, 10 kg of military-grade RDX explosives and 12 hand grenades were intercepted from payloads during the same period.

Officials say that the smugglers are exploiting the vast stretch of the International Border.

While drone technology has advanced considerably, the rising frequency of intrusions is posing a major challenge to security agencies.

There appears to be little respite, with the frequency of intrusions increasing manifold. The tactic is to send as many drones as possible in the hope that at least one carrying the largest payload will make its way into India, another official said.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 9 (SocialNews.XYZ) The busting of the Faridabad terror module, which allegedly carried out the car bomb blast near Delhi’s Red Fort in November last year, exposed how white-collar professionals were operating dangerous terror cells in India. It also indicated growing interest among similar youth in establishing terror cells and engaging in anti-national activities.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 9 (SocialNews.XYZ) Pakistan-based narcotic cartels are now encouraging their cronies in India to ramp up homegrown production. With agencies such as the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) carrying out several drug busts, the cartels from Pakistan have decided to focus more on home-made substances to fuel their trade.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 8 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Pakistan security establishment has issued an urgent directive recalling retired army personnel for re-enlistment to combat severe manpower shortages caused by heavy casualties and desertions in the conflict-ridden regions of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

The Inspector General of Frontier Corps, Balochistan (North), in an official communication, has asked the retired soldiers to immediately report and get re-enlisted immediately.

An official said that this communication indicates two things. Firstly, the Pakistani Army is facing an acute manpower shortage due to the heavy casualties inflicted by groups such as the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the official said.

“The other reason for such communication could be that the Pakistan Army is preparing to intensify operations in these regions. Groups such as the BLA and BLF have significantly upgraded their capabilities and have also introduced women suicide units, which have already carried out successful attacks against security forces,” the official said.

Pakistan has set an October 30 deadline for the return of the ex-army personnel.

Pakistan observers say that the establishment has become desperate. Although it may try and project that it is looking to intensify operations to finish the problem, in reality, there is a massive manpower shortage.

In September alone, these separatist groups have carried out 94 attacks against the security forces. The BLA claimed that in these attacks, it has managed to kill 105 personnel of the Pakistani security forces.

“This indicates that there are huge losses that the establishment has suffered, as a result of which their manpower is down,” the experts say.

While the communication does specify a deadline of October 30, it does not make it compulsory for the retired army personnel to return. Further, there is also no fixed age that the communication indicates for those who want to return. The perk for those wishing to return would be that they would be paid salaries that correspond to their completed years of service.

Another official said that Pakistan has been increasingly turning to its retired personnel in recent years. Many have been roped in to fight alongside the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed.

“The reasoning behind this is that these retired personnel are already battle-hardened and could commence operations immediately as they would hardly need any sort of training,” the official said.

Prior to focusing on the KP region, Pakistan would look to address the situation in Balochistan first. The BLA has specifically targeted checkpoints and military convoys, with such attacks resulting in ambushes that have inflicted significant casualties on security forces.

While the loss of manpower due to attacks by these groups is one reason for bringing back retired personnel, another is the growing number of desertions. Several personnel have either quit or gone missing, fearing they could be killed.

“Their morale is low, and they no longer want to fight, prompting them to leave the service,” the official said.

In Balochistan and KP, the situation is so bad that in several areas, the BLA, BLF and TTP are in complete control. The fact that a majority of the locals support them has only boosted their human intelligence. This also means that the security forces are not being fed with information by the locals, and this is why the casualty rate is high.

The BLA and BLF have inflicted significant damage on the Pakistani security forces at Mastung, Nushki, Khan, Tech, Washuk and Panjur areas.

The retired personnel, depending on how many are willing to return, would be deployed in these areas as they are considered strongholds of the BLA, an official said.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 8 (SocialNews.XYZ) Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) launched a multi-state destabilisation plot targeting Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Manipur in the run-up to the 2027 assembly elections, intelligence agencies have warned.

Seven key states, namely Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur and Goa, would go to the polls between February and March next year.

The intelligence agencies have drawn up a list of states that are vulnerable during the elections or in the run-up to them. The ISI has set its eyes particularly on Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Manipur.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that these three states are extremely vulnerable to ISI-driven activities.

“In Uttar Pradesh, the focus will be on terror attacks and espionage activities. In Punjab, it will be arms and narcotics smuggling, besides random grenade attacks. In Manipur, the attempts will be aimed at creating widespread unrest in the state ahead of the elections,” the IB official said.

This plan was set in motion almost a year back, when the ISI roped in Shahzad Bhatti to recruit Indian youths. His focus was pan-India, and he managed to recruit youths for a small sum of money.

“He would instruct these recruits to carry out hit jobs, install CCTV cameras in sensitive and crowded locations, carry out surveillance for terror attacks, indulge in narcotics smuggling and counterfeiting of Indian currency,” the official said.

The Bhatti network focused heavily on the election-bound states. Recruitment was high in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, investigators say. These recruits were planning strikes in the run-up and also during the elections.

In states like UP, the focus was mainly on carrying out big-ticket attacks. While carrying out surveillance on sensitive locations, there was equal emphasis on crowded locations such as railway stations and bus stands too. This makes it amply clear that the Bhatti network was aiming at big attacks in the state.

Another official said that it is not just the Bhatti gang that was focusing on the election-bound states; there are multiple players on the payrolls of the ISI who have been on the job.

“In Punjab, the brief is clear, and that is to ramp up narcotics smuggling and arms trade. The ISI-backed networks have been told to dump as much ammunition and narcotics into the state ahead of the elections,” the official said.

While the dumping of drugs and arms has been underway, the state of Punjab has also been witnessing stray grenade attacks and vandalism by pro-Khalistan operatives, the official said.

There are two objectives behind these stray incidents of violence. This is meant to promote the Khalistan movement, but more importantly, to keep the security agencies busy so that the narcotics and arms trade goes on smoothly without coming under the radar, the official said.

While Punjab and Uttar Pradesh remain states of concern, security agencies are particularly worried about Manipur. Multiple players are believed to have an interest in triggering widespread unrest in the state. The ethnic violence that erupted in 2023 has subsided in intensity, but several issues linked to the conflict remain unresolved.

Since the violence broke out, the Central government has been exploring various measures to restore lasting peace in Manipur. Compared with the situation in 2023, the nature of the conflict has changed, with the state now facing what security officials describe as a low-intensity crisis.

Another official said that the situation does remain tense and these vested interest groups would look to fuel speculation and run fake narratives so that Manipur returns to its 2023 scenario.

While it is easiest for these ISI-backed groups to fuel tensions in Manipur at the moment, the larger game is to ensure that violence spreads across the North-eastern region

The ISI has been working alongside some of its proxies both in Bangladesh and India to fuel tensions during election year in Manipur, with the hope that it spreads and the entire Northeast burns, an official said.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 7 (SocialNews.XYZ) An emerging pattern has been observed in the functioning of self-radicalised terror modules in India. Such modules often remain dormant for prolonged periods without engaging in any major activity.

Indian security agencies suspect that several such modules may be operating across the country, staying inactive for years before attempting to carry out a major terror attack.

An official said that these terror modules are extremely dangerous in nature. “Most of these modules in India are either inspired by the Islamic State or Al-Qaeda in the Sub-Continent. It is their patience, which is what makes them extremely lethal,” the official said.

It all begins with one or two youths with similar thoughts coming together.

“Their primary objective is to establish a self-sustaining module focused on spreading radical propaganda. Over time, they begin recruiting others, but only select a small number of people. They also thoroughly profile potential recruits before allowing them to join the module,” the official said.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that recruits are usually highly educated youths who have jobs with high salaries. There are many reasons why such persons are chosen.

“First and foremost, these persons do not come under the radar easily. Secondly, they have high-paying jobs, and the money earned comes in handy to run a self-sustained module. This helps cover the financial trail, as there is no dependence on an outside source to fund the module,” the IB official said.

Some of these modules were set up in 2014, and there has been no activity for over ten years.

The module that was busted in Pune was operating in a similar manner. It was set up in 2015, and all these years, it did nothing overt and was able to cover its trail for ten years. Such modules-in-waiting are dangerous.

Not only do they manage to stay off the radar for so long, but they also use this time to quietly radicalise and recruit more people, the official said.

Another official said that such self-sustained modules that remain dormant for so many years are not focusing on lone wolf attacks.

“This is a knee-jerk reaction, and a lone wolf attack would not just be less effective, but would expose such modules easily. Instead, they play the waiting game for 5-10 years and at the end of it set themselves up for a spectacular attack,” the official said.

Another aspect that makes tracking such modules so hard is that the members operate by blending themselves completely into the local communities. This allows them to remain dormant or sub-overt for many years before being activated for violent operations.

Officials say that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has now shifted its strategy to proactive disruption. Further, the NIA coordinates with the state agencies and carries out raids to pre-emptively dismantle such hidden modules.

It is an ongoing operation, and there are many more such dormant modules on the radar of the Indian agencies. The Indian security agencies are not just focusing on busting such modules but also looking to prevent new ones from cropping up.

The Pune case is a classic example of how dormant modules function in the country. This module, in its initial phases, only focused on furthering Al-Qaeda’s call for the destruction of India or Ghazwa-e-Hind. It was only later, when the module felt it was ready to go the extra mile, that the members began IED attacks in areas like Kondhwa.

Intelligence assessments say that such modules will continue to crop up in various parts of the country. In order to tackle these self-sustained dormant modules, the key would be surveillance led by the Intelligence agencies, an official said.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 7 (SocialNews.XYZ) With the western border becoming increasingly difficult to operate along, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is seeking to intensify activities on the eastern front. Terror groups in Bangladesh have long been nurtured by the ISI, with the focus largely on targeting West Bengal and the northeastern states.

The ISI has been focusing on three groups in Bangladesh: Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), and Neo-JMB. While all three groups have their own strengths, they lack the capabilities for large-scale operations, particularly attacks in India.

The ISI wants these groups to build capabilities on the lines of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which have carried out several deadly attacks in India.

An official said that the ISI understands that in order to operate a bigger scale, these groups need to be united. Although each one follows the same radical ideology, which is to bleed India, they lack unity.

This the ISI wants to fix, and get these groups under one umbrella so that their operational might is scaled up.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that although these groups may not be fighting against each other directly, they have a tendency to operate on each other’s turf.

“This has caused confusion when it comes to operations and very often also caused a rift. Such overlapping is hurting these groups, and hence they have not been able to scale up,” the official said.

The ISI wants these groups to take a leaf out of the book of Jaish and Lashkar. Their operations have rarely overlapped, as the ISI has maintained strict control over them. Both groups remain focused on the Kashmir cause and, during operations, have generally avoided stepping on each other’s turf.

“In fact, after Operation Sindoor last year, Pakistan brought both these groups to operate together. At the launchpads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), operatives of the Lashkar, Jaish and Hizbul Mujahideen work in tandem. In case they do manage to infiltrate, operations in Jammu and Kashmir would be carried out jointly,” the official said.

When it comes to Bangladesh operations, the ISI is now revisiting a 2019 proposal made by the so-called chief of the JMB, Salehuddin Saleh.

He had suggested that in order to function better and remain stronger, it would be best if the JMB, ABT and Neo-JMB merged into one faction. The ISI feels that going ahead with this proposal would benefit all three groups.

Another official said that while the ABT may be okay with the merger with the JMB, the problem lies with the Neo-JMB. The split in the JMB led to the formation of the Neo-JMB.

The split was in fact a bitter one and was driven by factors such as leadership disputes, ideological differences, and the global rise of the Islamic State.

The JMB was aligned with Al-Qaeda, but a faction within the group felt that the Islamic State had a more radical ideology and was also a fast-growing global terror group, the official said.

The ISI has been working on sorting out the differences between these groups. If even one group is not on the same page, then it could hamper operational abilities largely. Moreover, if one group stays out of this merger plan, then there is every chance that it would hamper operations by other groups.

Saleh had made several attempts to bring all these groups together, but was not entirely successful. However, things are likely to change as the ISI has taken charge and is directly dealing with the leadership to ensure that a merger takes place.

If this merger were to take place, then the policing along the eastern border would become challenging, and the Indian security agencies would have more on their plate to deal with, an official said.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 6 (SocialNews.XYZ) The fight against narcotics smuggling remains an ongoing challenge, with new threats emerging for Indian agencies with each passing day. Drug cartels operating from Pakistan have come under sustained pressure as the Narendra Modi government at the Centre steps up its efforts to make India drug-free.

However, agencies say that despite significant success in dismantling networks linked to operators such as Dawood Ibrahim and Haji Salim, the northeastern states remain a major challenge. The region’s porous borders and difficult terrain continue to provide opportunities for drug traffickers and their networks.

An official said that India’s border with Myanmar is the biggest challenge. The ban on the cultivation of opium in Afghanistan by the Taliban regime opened the doors for the cartels operating in Myanmar.

“Today Myanmar reportedly produces the largest quantity of opium in the world. Statistics show that in the year 2025, the cultivation area of opium rose to 53,100 hectares,” the official said.

The Indian agencies like the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Assam Rifles continue to work closely, and this has led to major drug busts in the last two to three years.

However, narcotics continue to enter India in large quantities. The cultivation of opium in Myanmar remains a challenge beyond India’s direct control. India and Myanmar have held several rounds of talks on the issue and agreed to work together to combat the menace.

Officials, however, say tackling the problem will take time, given the enormous scale at which drug cartels operate in Myanmar.

Another official said Myanmar’s drug cartels are vast and have access to enormous financial resources.

“There is a strong possibility that the combined wealth of these cartels could be significantly greater than that of a government,” the official said.

This adds to the challenge for Indian agencies. Even when agencies succeed in busting multiple consignments linked to these cartels, the networks can quickly regroup and establish new supply chains, officials said. Their vast financial resources allow them to absorb losses and continue operations with relative ease.

An Intelligence Bureau official said the cartels have repeatedly sought to exploit conflicts and unrest in the northeastern states, particularly Manipur.

According to the official, such situations provide drug networks with opportunities to expand their operations and strengthen their presence in the region.

On many occasions, investigations have revealed that these cartels have hired their cronies in these states to rake up sensitive issues deliberately so that violence breaks out. The scale of the violence is also huge and runs into several days or even months.

This keeps the security agencies completely focused on the violence and how to curb it. The cartels take advantage of this situation and move their consignments into the northeast in large numbers, the official said.

In 2025, the NCB had called the scale of the narcotics trade emerging out of Myanmar as ‘dramatic.’ In March 2026, the government told the Lok Sabha that the number of seizures had gone up considerably.

In Assam and Tripura, the seizures reported were 31,706 kg and 46,346 kg respectively. In Mizoram, the seizures increased from 1,967 kg in 2024 to 2,233 kg in 2025. Mizoram, on the other hand, saw a major spike in seizures. In 2024, just 284 kilograms of narcotics had been seized. However, the year 2025 recorded 2,556 kg being seized.

Officials say that the seizures are no doubt huge. However, the problem persists. Intelligence reports clearly show the cartels have ramped up production in 2026 by nearly three times. This adds to the challenge, as the problem that the agencies are dealing with is huge owing to the quantity of drugs being produced.

While Myanmar’s drug cartels have helped make the country one of the world’s largest sources of illicit opium, they are also producing synthetic drugs on a large scale. The growing flow of synthetic drugs from Myanmar into Indian markets poses a major challenge for enforcement agencies.

Methamphetamine, in particular, is being smuggled into India in large quantities, driven by strong demand in the domestic market.

The agencies are not only battling the scale at which the drugs are being produced and smuggled into the Indian markets. They also face immense challenges when it comes to the terrain in which they are operating.

The Moreh-Tamu border is the key transit point for the narcotics cartels. Further adding to the challenge are the porous stretches on the India-Myanmar border and also the forest and hilly terrain, which makes operations for the Indian agencies extremely challenging, an official said.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 5 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), which has found a new friend in the Pakistani establishment, is set to step up attacks against Deobandi organisations that are supportive of the Afghan Taliban.

While there have been such attacks by the ISKP in the last couple of years, intelligence inputs suggest that these incidents are likely to go up manyfold.

An official said that when the ISKP began attacks on Deobandi organisations, political parties and scholars, it had spoken about ideological differences.

“The ISKP says that the South Asian Deobandi Hanafi jurisprudence is flawed and an illegitimate interpretation of Islam. The ISKP has very often called such institutions apostates,” the official said.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that the ISKP now has the backing of the Pakistani establishment.

The ISKP is being used by Pakistan to fight its battle against the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

“Moreover, the Pakistani establishment is at loggerheads with the Afghan Taliban. The establishment would encourage ISKP attacks on institutes that are sympathetic to the Afghan Taliban,” the IB official said.

The main target for the ISKP in Pakistan would continue to be the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F). This organisation openly advocates in favour of the Afghan Taliban.

In 2023, the ISKP carried out a deadly suicide attack at a JUI-F political rally in Bajaur district, killing nearly 60 people. In the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) region, the ISKP has allegedly murdered JUI-F local leaders.

Another official said that the ISKP would also target Deobandi Seminaries or Madrasas. These seminaries support the Afghan Taliban and hence have come under the radar of the ISKP, the official said.

Pakistan observers say that the intention of the ISKP is to erode the legitimacy of the Taliban network.

The attacks are carried out to send out a message that the Taliban cannot protect parties and institutions that are in their favour. Further, the ISKP is also in a battle with the TTP courtesy of the Pakistan establishment.

Pakistan, on the other hand, wants the TTP defeated. They have also been attempting to topple the Afghan Taliban regime in Afghanistan ever since they stopped looking eye-to-eye. In a nutshell, what the ISKP has undertaken to weaken the TTP and Afghan Taliban fits well into Pakistan’s scheme of things, the experts say.

When the ISKP was initially set up in Afghanistan, it treated Pakistan as a sworn enemy. Attacks were focused on hitting the establishment directly in Pakistan. At that time, the ISKP exploited the faults in the Pakistani intelligence systems. There were calls to upgrade Human Intelligence (HUMINT) to tackle the ISKP problem.

Security officials say a lot changed after the tensions soared between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban.

Islamabad has very often accused the Afghan Taliban, without proof, of supporting the TTP and allowing it to use Afghan soil to launch attacks on Pakistan.

The battle between the TTP and Pakistani security forces did not shape up the way Islamabad would have hoped. Instead, in all recent battles, the TTP has had the upper hand and the security forces have incurred heavy losses.

By roping in the ISKP, Pakistan hoped that the TTP could be weakened.

The ISKP is bound to take advantage of this newfound relationship with Pakistan. It is using this to further its cause to weaken the Taliban network. Given all that is going on, attacks on Taliban friendly institutions by the ISKP are something that Pakistan would not mind, an official said.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 5 (SocialNews.XYZ) The security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) are gearing up for a possible escalation in violence after negotiations between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistan government failed.

Pakistan’s Federal Minister Mohsin Naqvi met with the governor of KP to discuss the situation in the region. The security situation has worsened over the last couple of months, and the Pakistan government has accused the chief minister of KP, Sohail Afridi, of non-cooperation.

The long march that is being planned by the PTI has also been a bone of contention, and Pakistan accuses the Imran Khan-led party of trying to destabilise the country.

An official says that the federal government either wants Afridi to back down or face removal. Following the meeting with the governor of the region, Naqvi briefed President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir.

“All are of the opinion that the establishment should not give in to the demands that the PTI is making,” the official said.

The intelligence assessment for the region says that violence is round the corner and the situation is going to further worsen. Both sides are not backing down, and this would lead to confrontation and widespread violence in the region, the assessment says.

Among the options being considered by the Pakistan government are the imposition of emergency in KP or the introduction of governor’s rule. Either move is likely to face strong opposition from PTI leaders and could trigger widespread protests and violence across the region.

Another official said that Pakistan is playing with fire, adding that it is more interested in destroying the PTI rather than trying to address the real issues that are being raised.

President Zardari is of the opinion that the Constitution should be invoked to address the situation in the KP region. This means that either emergency or governor’s rule would be imposed.

This decision, which is round the corner, would be counterproductive to the security situation in the KP region.

On the one hand, the security forces are engaged in a bloody battle with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and on the other, an attempt to overthrow Sohail Zardari is being made. The battle with the TTP and the protests by the PTI are bound to overwhelm the security machinery in the region, the official said.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that the Pakistani establishment, especially the army, is making this an ego issue.

“The battle is against Imran Khan, who has been in jail indefinitely. Asim Munir wants the PTI finished as he realises that the party does pose a challenge to the establishment. However, any misadventure in KP at a time when the situation is fluid will have a disastrous effect on the people of the region and the Pakistan establishment too,” the official said.

The federal government is likely to approach Sohail Afridi again before it decides to impose emergency or governor’s rule. The PTI is unlikely to budge, and it has often accused the federal government of coming up with solutions that are not workable.

The government, which is under immense pressure from the army, is not in any position to take a positive decision, and this in turn is affecting the security forces as well as the people of the region.

The PTI, on the other hand, is unlikely to budge and will go ahead with its proposed long march through Pakistan. This would only be met with brute force by the already overwhelmed security forces in the region.

The weeks ahead could see the situation in KP spiral out of control, and the security forces would have their hands full as neither side is willing to budge, an official said.

Source: IANS

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New York, Oct 3 (SocialNews.XYZ) It has become predictable for the leaders of Pakistan to sell a concocted narrative that hardly has any buyers. The saying that best describes this commonplace practice of the country's ruling elite from different parties is – the more things change, the more they stay the same.

As domestic politics remains gravely polarised and the economy is in shambles, the ruling alliance has been trying its best to utilise international platforms for its unsubstantiated polemics, which are unlikely to have any impact. No foreign visits to peddle a specific narrative can obscure the ruling alliance's domestic political instability, economic collapse, and skyrocketing inflation.

The grim situation at home makes it exceedingly difficult for this "hybrid" regime — as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government is labelled by some — to convince international commentators and global actors to buy into its rhetoric.

Sharif’s address at the United Nations (UN) followed this exact, predictable trajectory.

In his speech to the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Sharif maintained his strategy of placating and courting the country’s powerful military establishment. This pattern originally took root during the fallout between then-Prime Minister Imran Khan and the military. The alliance was cemented when the military ensured that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) took power through a coalition, while successfully keeping Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) sidelined.

Furthermore, Prime Minister Sharif has not even attempted to conceal the imbalance within this nexus. Whatever the military decides, the civilian government ensures it is implemented. This subservience is evident in the introduction of the radical and sweeping 26th and 27th Amendments, which undermined judicial independence and further consolidated the military's authority. Ultimately, the role of the civilian administration has been reduced to overseeing execution and laundering the policy narratives dictated by the military establishment.

Critics frequently question which world leaders would praise the country’s military at an international forum — meant to address global challenges and project national integrity — for such narrow domestic purposes. Yet, civilian leaders in Pakistan find themselves compelled to do exactly that. They know it well that if the true masters are displeased, no civilian leader can expect to remain in power.

While Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif may have attempted to downplay the stark imbalance in Pakistan's military-dominated power structure, this submission became glaringly obvious during his UNGA address. Referring to the May 2025 border clashes — which erupted after India launched a military riposte to a heinous terrorist attack in Pahalgam that claimed the lives of 26 civilians — Sharif deliberately highlighted the military's supremacy. Even on this global platform, he went out of his way to praise the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), stating, “Our brave and valiant armed forces, under the courageous leadership of Field Marshal Asim Munir, responded with precision and professionalism.” In May, on the occasion of Eid, the Premier had personally called Field Marshal Asim Munir to greet him.

Far from being an aberration, this subservience has been a defining feature of the Sharif administration: maintaining power by capitulating to the military's dictates and systematically validating its supremacy on the global stage.

Furthermore, Sharif’s declaration at the UN — warning that “any attempt to stop, impede or divert Pakistan’s share of the waters will be treated as an act of war” — is riddled with such glaring contradictions that it has lost all credibility on the global stage. Consider the most obvious dissonance: first, India has never threatened to weaponise water as a punitive measure regarding cross-border terrorism. Second, the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) has merely been placed in abeyance, not abandoned or formally terminated.

Third, and most critically, 16 months have elapsed since New Delhi suspended the treaty in April 2025. Throughout this extended period, Islamabad has continuously claimed that it would consider "weaponisation" of water as an act of war; yet, no tangible retaliatory action in the sixteen months exposes its claim that India was “weaponising” water.

Ultimately, the world is left to question what should be taken seriously: Pakistan’s claim that India is “weaponising” water, or its warning that it will wage war over the issue? As it turns out, neither narrative holds weight, and global observers treat them accordingly.

Had India actually begun “weaponising” water — a move Pakistan has repeatedly labelled a definitive red line — Islamabad would have actively gathered empirical evidence to mobilise international opinion, even if it abstained from military conflict. It has failed to do so because its claims lack substantiation. Furthermore, if India had crossed this supposed red line and Pakistan still hesitated to take kinetic action, it merely implies that its military leadership understands it cannot match India—a perfectly logical conclusion.

This stark contradiction highlights the deep irony within the regime’s dual messaging: issuing severe ultimatums while simultaneously attempting to project an aura of peace and a preference for diplomacy. Siding with the Prime Minister, an editorial in a prominent Pakistani daily, The Express Tribune, argued that “the PM's insistence that dialogue must retain primacy is both prudent and consistent with Pakistan's own interests.”

Yet, this external plea for prudent dialogue stands in stark contrast to the ruling alliance's domestic behaviour. At home, the regime rejects the very concept of negotiation, preferring instead to ruthlessly suppress its political opponents, dismantle democratic checks, and deploy state machinery to crush any dissent—proving that its international calls for "peaceful dialogue" are merely a theatrical performance for global consumption.

This domestic repression is perfectly illustrated by the targeting of Pakistan’s most popular political leader, Imran Khan, who remains incarcerated under a 14-year prison sentence on what independent monitors widely condemn as fabricated charges. Simultaneously, the federal government is engineering an aggressive campaign to impose Governor's Rule — or a state of emergency — in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), the only province outside the ruling alliance's grip.

While the federal regime disingenuously points to a surge in regional militancy to justify this overreach, its actions expose a massive institutional contradiction: the military has spent years conducting high-profile operations and claiming it completely eradicated these terrorist networks. By training the spotlight exclusively on the provincial administration, doesn’t that imply that an attempt is being made to shield the military establishment from scrutiny?

Ultimately, empty proclamations cannot absolve the Shehbaz Sharif government from the reality that it has been thoroughly incapacitated by the military establishment. The military has adroitly leveraged a triad of crises—Imran Khan’s surging popularity, a deteriorating security architecture, and the civilian administration's failure to steer the economy—to instil existential fear within traditional political entities like the PML-N and PPP.

Convinced that their survival depended entirely on capitulation, these parties entered a Faustian bargain to secure power, only to find themselves completely toothless. By transforming elected representatives into obedient functionaries, the military has systematically insulated itself against any semblance of accountability.

Consequently, Pakistan's current political landscape and strategic policies reflect the institutional mindset of the GHQ, entirely divorced from the will of civilian leaders or the aspirations of the common people.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 3 (SocialNews.XYZ) Knowing that numbers do not favour them in Parliament for an impeachment motion against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, the Opposition INDIA bloc’s battle against alleged poll malpractices is being elevated outside.

This is where some of the bloc’s constituents want to see a larger role for the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), whose movement against the NEET paper leak and irregularities in the examination process gained wide traction, leading to the resignation of the then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

The INDIA bloc and CJP are running separate organisational programmes rather than a formally unified movement, which may be described as converging on the same issue while maintaining distinct protest events and leadership.

There were reportedly no wider discussions within the INDIA bloc specifically over including or working alongside CJP, where a consensus reportedly exists on supporting them.

The INDIA bloc announced a week-long “Save Democracy” campaign, including district-level marches, demonstrations and a march by Opposition MPs to the Election Commission demanding greater transparency in electoral-roll revisions and calling for Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.

At the same time, the CJP has been conducting its own protests, with similar demands, including the resignation of the CEC, a halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll, and reforms in the Election Commission’s appointment process.

Thus, even as the larger CJP movement was observed in Mumbai on Friday, the attempted political rally in Delhi witnessed the presence of many from among its ranks.

Earlier, when reaching out to Opposition parties to revive the anti-CEC stir in unison, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary M. A. Baby contacted the CJP as well. It was described as part of a broader effort to build the widest possible opposition platform against the Election Commission, largely due to Gyanesh Kumar’s handling of the SIR exercise.

On September 26, he wrote to political parties across the spectrum and had also communicated with the CJP, admitting it was not recognised as a political party. He explained that the objective was to create a bigger movement involving all political forces opposed to what he described as the Election Commission's “unilateral” and alleged pro-government functioning.

This may be seen as the CPI (M) leadership viewing CJP as a mobilising force on a specific issue and willing to cooperate despite ideological or organisational differences.

Baby's letter and subsequent interactions with CJP appear as a tactical political outreach aimed at expanding a common opposition campaign.

Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress founder Mamata Banerjee, in Delhi for the INDIA meeting, addressed a press conference the following day, where she took a question on a possible convergence or coordination.

Without going for a direct answer, she said they’re with the group and pointed to the presence of her MPs at the CJP’s earlier protests against paper leak at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.

She again chose to answer indirectly in Kolkata on Friday, where she told the waiting media at the airport, “We fully support the movements of the Cockroach Janata Party and the youth,” adding, “We have also demanded the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner.”

The Congress, meanwhile, appears intent to project Rahul Gandhi as the face of protests, where the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha chose to hold a flash protest with some party colleagues outside the Prime Minister's residence in July in what was seen as an attempt to reclaim the space over the paper leak issue being taken up by CJP.

Though the Congress supported the CJP demands, its youth and student wings also staged related protests seeking Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation.

Within the INDIA platform, the party continues to retain pole position despite organisations like the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) stepping out of the INDIA bloc largely over political differences and regional interests.

Among the close to 20 parties that participated in the grouping’s meeting in Delhi, India’s “grand old party” far surpasses any other with 98 members in Lok Sabha and 30 in the Upper House. That is where many regional satraps choose to go along in a desperate bid to stall the BJP juggernaut due to an apparent arithmetic in the alliance.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 3 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Rs 3,000-crore drug bust off the Lakshadweep Islands early this week has dealt a major blow to the Haji Salim network, but the bigger challenge for the alleged Inter Services Intelligence-backed syndicate is the shrinking availability of viable maritime routes into India.

Intensified coastal surveillance and heightened security have made traditional landing points increasingly difficult to use, forcing the network to shift routes, take greater risks, and search for new entry points for moving large consignments of narcotics.

Five Pakistani nationals operating the vessel were arrested, and 400 kg of methamphetamine and 126 kg of high-grade drugs worth over Rs 3,000 crore were seized during the operation by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad.

An official said that the investigations show that the consignment was intended to land in Tamil Nadu, following which it was to be smuggled into international markets.

“Haji Salim, a Dawood Ibrahim aide, is in charge of narcotic smuggling into the southern states. From there it is taken to Sri Lanka and to countries such as Thailand,” the official said.

For the Haji Salim, the seizure of such a massive consignment is no doubt a setback, but the bigger worry for the syndicate is that it is running out of routes.

“Earlier, Gujarat was the most preferred route for the Haji Salim network. However, in recent times there have been multiple busts on this route, and the network has incurred massive losses following heightened security,” the official said.

The surveillance has increased manifold along the Gujarat route, and smuggling has become extremely difficult for the gang. This has forced the Haji Salim network to send the consignment of drugs using alternate routes.

Since the network shifted south, the Iranian dhow that was carrying the consignment had to be tracked and intercepted 160 nautical miles northwest of Lakshadweep.

Another official said the Haji Salim network now faces a fresh challenge as the new route has also come under the radar of coastal agencies.

“The network may have spent months planning the alternate route to bypass Gujarat. However, following the latest joint operation by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Gujarat ATS, the Salim gang is likely to start looking for another route,” the official said.

The officials say that very soon, the ISI-backed Salim syndicate will run out of routes.

Earlier, the most preferred route prior to Gujarat was Vizhinjam near Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. However, there were multiple successive actions carried out by the agencies, which led to several consignments being busted.

“Currently the surveillance at this seaport is at an all-time high and smuggling narcotics is next to impossible here,” the official said.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that Haji Salim managed to find new landing points at Kasargod and Malappuram, in north Kerala

“These locations have relatively low levels of coastal surveillance, making them ideal landing points for the network. However, it is only a matter of time before surveillance is stepped up in these areas,” the official said.

The officials say that although the Indian agencies have shut down several routes and conducted successive operations, they cannot become complacent. There is a lot at stake here, and both the ISI and the Haji Salim network are in need of funds. With so many of their contingents being busted in recent times, the losses that they have incurred is huge.

Further, Haji Salim is also under immense pressure from his international buyers to deliver narcotics in huge quantities.

If busts such as these continue to take place, then the international buyers would start looking for other avenues and this would cause a major dent for the Haji Salim network, officials say.

For the ISI too, such busts represent a major setback.

Officials said that under arrangements allegedly struck by the ISI with narcotics operators such as Dawood Ibrahim and Haji Salim, the drug cartels are required to hand over 40 percent of their proceeds from the narcotics trade. In return, the ISI is alleged to provide protection to the networks.

Officials said the money is largely used to finance terror activities in India.

The fact is that the Haji Salim network is running out of routes in India to move its consignments. While Salim plans newer routes, he also has to deal with the pressure from international buyers who are likely to pursue other avenues if this network does not get its act together, another official said.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 3 (SocialNews.XYZ) Al-Umar Mujahideen, founded in December 1989 in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, has become largely defunct over the years. Its founder, Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, also known as Mushtaq Latram, is currently based in Pakistan.

Although there is no known recent operational activity by the group, Indian agencies are keeping a close watch on Al-Umar Mujahideen in view of recent developments and reports of attempts to revive its presence in the Valley.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that the Umar Mujahideen is currently being tapped by the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) to recommence operations in Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistan has been seeking to revive militant operations in Jammu and Kashmir, but prefers a homegrown outfit to remain at the forefront of such activities.

“The Hizbul Mujahideen, which would have been the obvious choice for such an operation, is currently not ready for the job. Moreover, almost all its operatives are working alongside the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pakistan,” the official said.

To oversee operations in J&K, the ISI had created the Kashmir Study Group. All decisions relating to Jammu and Kashmir are based on the recommendations made by this group.

Headed by two officials, who are in the ranks of a Brigadier and a Colonel in the Pakistan Army, the group studies the Valley closely and then makes suggestions to the ISI.

“The studies include the local problems that the people face and how to exploit them. It also makes recommendations to the ISI on how to use the various terror groups in Jammu and Kashmir,” the official said.

An official said that the reason why the Indian agencies are keeping a close watch on the Umar Mujahideen is because of recent recommendations that have been made by the Kashmir Study Group. It has told the ISI to merge the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Umar Mujahideen for the sake of operations in Jammu and Kashmir.

“The plan is to have the Jaish and Lashkar hold the Umar Mujahideen for some time and then let it operate individually in the Valley,” the official said.

Al-Umar Mujahideen was formed after it broke away from the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). The reason for the breakup was that Umar Mujahideen chose a path that would pursue an Islamist-pro-Pakistan agenda explicitly, while the JKLF wanted to fight for an independent secular Kashmir.

The Kashmir Study group suggested that Umar Mujahideen be handled initially so that it can rebuild its base in Jammu and Kashmir. Moreover, this terror group will be looked at as a homegrown outfit considering its roots in Jammu and Kashmir.

Another official said that the Kashmir Study group, while suggesting the merger, deliberately advised the ISI to leave the Hizbul Mujahideen out for now.

Currently, the radar on the Hizbul Mujahideen is very high, and it was only in recent years that the Indian agencies had managed to shake up the entire ecosystem of the outfit. These incidents are fresh in the minds of the people and the agencies, and hence the scrutiny remains high.

Umar Mujahideen, on the other hand, has been almost defunct since 2006. It was in the news recently when the National Investigation Agency (NIA) attached Zargar’s properties under the anti-terror laws. Zargar had been arrested by the agencies in 1992, but was released along with other terrorists, including Masood Azhar, in exchange for hostages on the hijacked Indian Airlines Flight IC-814.

Considering the number of years that this group has been defunct in Jammu and Kashmir, the ISI felt that it would be best to revive the outfit for operations in the Valley.

Based on the recommendations of the Kashmir Study Group, the ISI is now looking to merge the JeM, LeT and Umar Mujahideen for Kashmir operations.

The Hizbul Mujahideen would only provide manpower to the LeT and JeM for now. Many Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists are waiting, along with the operatives of the Lashkar and Jaish, at multiple launchpads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

It would take some time before the Hizbul Mujahideen is given full operational control in Jammu and Kashmir.

Until then, the ISI would nurture and re-launch the Umar Mujahideen in a big way for operations in Jammu and Kashmir, the official said.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 2 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Indian security agencies carried out two major operations this week, which included the killing of a top Lashkar-e-Taiba operative and a huge drug bust to the tune of over Rs 3,000 crore.

The operations conducted in Jammu and Kashmir and Lakshadweep were both driven by Intelligence sharing and coordination. In both these cases, the Intelligence was precise and actionable, and this helped the agencies carry out the operations successfully.

An official explained that India’s Intelligence grid has come a long way. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has been clear that India’s Intelligence systems must be constantly upgraded so that they keep up with the times and remain effective, the official said.

On Tuesday night, the Army’s 15 Chinar Corps responded immediately to actionable Intelligence about the presence of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa Ali Asif Fauji in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam. The entire operation was based on Intelligence inputs, and this led to the killing of the terrorist.

On September 25, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Gujarat ATS seized 526 kg of heroin and methamphetamine worth Rs 3,000 crore after intercepting an Iranian dhow with five Pakistanis onboard at Lakshadweep. This operation too was based on actionable Intelligence.

Another official said that there has been a major revolution when it comes to Intelligence gathering and sharing. While ground-level Intelligence remains the biggest draw, there is solid integration of technology that has taken place. Terror threats are evolving, and hence it is important to keep up with the times. For instance, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by terror groups is a big challenge in the months to come, the official said.

With neighbours like Pakistan, India is bound to face challenges on a daily basis. Gone are the days when Intelligence units only dealt with terror groups and their traditional styles of operation. Today India deals with propaganda warfare, narrative battles, disinformation campaigns, narcotic smuggling and the use of drone technology, illegal immigration and infiltrations, just to name a few. To counter all these acts of terror against the country, Intelligence plays a major part, officials say.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that while technology is very important, ground-level intelligence is something that one cannot do away with. Operations against the naxalites and those that are carried out in Jammu and Kashmir are very ground-level driven. Unless one has their ears to the ground, it is hard to battle such issues, the official said.

Today, what is central to national security is the combination of ground-level and technological Intelligence. India has today adopted an intelligence-first model to counter the emerging threats.

Officials say that the Narendra Modi government has given maximum emphasis to national security. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval have given clear instructions about strengthening India’s Intelligence grid. India’s not just looking at the current situation, but is developing a system that would remain strong and secure even in 2047, officials say.

In the earlier days, the Intelligence agencies would gather, analyse, and then pass on information. Today it is also about data analysis, cyber monitoring, and predictive analysis.

Officials say that there have been technological advancements in the field of Intelligence. However, this cannot eliminate the need for human beings in this field. While the technology may help in identifying threats, it cannot interpret the consequences. This is where human judgment comes into play. If the interpretation of the Intelligence is not correct, then it could end up in escalation that could have consequences that are counter-productive to India’s national security, officials say.

At the recently held National Security Strategies (NSS) conference, Home Minister Shah directed the agencies to develop standard operating procedures to tackle the various national security challenges. He said that this should be done on the basis of AI-driven analysis of information that is available on the Multi Agency (MAC) platform.

Officials say that the evolution of Intelligence gathering has evolved considerably over the last five years. The MAC and military networks have integrated AI and machine learning software, which help in predicting risks of escalation, classifying signals, and also detecting threats.

Security analysts say that the bridging together of Human Intelligence (HUMINT) and Technological Intelligence (TECHINT) is the biggest shift that has been made by the Narendra Modi government, taking into account the various challenges. This means that both HUMINT and TECHINT are no longer running on parallel tracks, but are feeding one another, analysts say.

There is a bidirectional flow when it comes to Intelligence gathering and analysis. What the algorithm predicts is being validated by humans, and this allows the security agencies to outpace threats with high speed and verifiable decisions, an official said.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 1 (SocialNews.XYZ) Pakistan-based terror outfits have shifted their focus to exploiting local socio-political grievances in Jammu and Kashmir to incite public agitation and recruit youth after narratives surrounding the abrogation of Article 370 lost momentum, security agencies have warned.

A recent intelligence assessment has pointed to terror outfits exploiting socio-political issues in Jammu and Kashmir to further their activities and influence.

Following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, Pakistan-based terror groups extensively sought to exploit the issue. However, with the campaign losing traction, the outfits are now turning their attention to other socio-political issues in the region.

The granting of Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the linguistic Pahari community in Jammu and Kashmir has, in recent times, been used as a recruitment tool by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) handlers based in Pakistan.

The move has reportedly caused resentment among the Gujjar and Bakerwal nomadic communities, which have enjoyed ST status since 1991.

“The issue has led to significant social polarisation, with protests and street agitations being held in several areas. However, there has not been large-scale communal or physical violence regarding this issue,” an official said.

Recent intelligence reports indicate that the issue has emerged as a major point of contention in the Pir Panjal region, with the Lashkar allegedly exploiting it to recruit cadres and incite violence in the area.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that the primary intention is not recruitment or radicalisation. “At first, the handlers are reaching out to people of the region through private chats and also on social media. Some of the communications openly advocate for widespread violence,” the official said.

While this may be the first step, the next objective is to spread the violence across the Kashmir Valley. Security agencies are expected to take action, which could in turn lead to further grievances among those affected by the measures.

“These persons are the potential recruits for terror groups such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba,” the IB official said.

The granting of the ST status to the linguistic Pahari community is not the only issue that the terror handlers are trying to exploit. Their focus remains more on the Kashmir Valley rather than the Jammu region.

“The handlers are trying to create a major divide between the people of the region. False narratives are being spread about how Jammu remains preferred over Kashmir,” the official said.

Another official said that a perception is being created that more preference is being given to the Jammu region, while those in the Kashmir Valley are deliberately being sidelined.

There are some sticking points, no doubt, but terror handlers are amplifying them into a major problem with the hope that the youth take to the streets and indulge in acts of violence, the official added.

Intelligence officials say that the issue that these terror groups exploit the most is the one relating to migrants, adding that this is an issue that has very often caused friction, with the migrants being accused of taking away the jobs of the locals.

“Terror groups take advantage of this and have escalated the issue further,” the officials said.

Groups such as the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar, through their proxies, have even circulated hit lists comprising the names of the migrants workers in Jammu and Kashmir. Migrants have also been killed on several occasions by operatives of these terror groups.

The exploitation of socio-political issues poses a major challenge to the security of Jammu and Kashmir. Relentless efforts by the government of India and the security agencies have managed to keep J&K quiet.

The elimination of separatism in the Valley contributed largely to the restoration of peace. However, if terror groups continue to exploit socio-political issues and the same gains traction among the people, then there is every chance that the law and order situation would become chaotic, an official said.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 1 (SocialNews.XYZ) Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has reportedly launched a massive drive to recruit retired army and navy personnel into terror outfits to bypass training delays and lead operations in Jammu and Kashmir, according to intelligence officials.

The tactical shift follows acute recruitment shortages faced by terror groups, including the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), and Hizbul Mujahideen after Operation Sindoor.

It is well known that following Operation Sindoor in May last year, terror outfits such as the Lashkar, Jaish and Hizbul Mujahideen have faced difficulties in recruiting new cadres.

Although recruitment has picked up pace, the challenge remains that these recruits require extensive training before they can be considered ready to carry out terror operations against India.

An official said that in order to overcome this gap and to make these groups operation-ready faster, the ISI has been looking for retired Pakistani army personnel.

While Pakistan has extensively used its former army personnel in the past, this time it is looking to recruit a much bigger number into the terror groups.

“Former soldiers and commandos are the preferred choice. They are operation-ready and would require a bare minimum amount of training before they can be sent out to carry out terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir,” the official said.

Another official said that the ISI used former army and navy personnel to be part of terror operations. The focus had, however, been on them imparting training when it comes to terror operations, fidayeen attacks, and also logistics.

The 26/11 Mumbai attacks also highlighted the extensive role allegedly played by Pakistan's military establishment. Individuals such as Major Iqbal were reported to have been involved in the training of the attackers. They were also said to have been present alongside the handlers in Karachi, providing instructions to the 10 terrorists who entered Mumbai on the night of November 26, 2008.

The official added that the ISI, with the assistance of Pakistan’s army, has been preparing a list of personnel who have retired or have resigned from the Pakistan army.

“They are being offered huge incentives to be part of the terror groups that have focused their operations largely on Jammu and Kashmir,” the official said.

An Intelligence Bureau official said Pakistan was not planning a major attack in the immediate future. However, the country wants its terror groups to remain fully operational and prepared to carry out attacks when required.

Once these retired personnel are picked, they would be sent to the launchpads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

“Currently at the launchpads, the terrorists are divided into batches of three. There is one terrorist each from the Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen in each batch,” the official said.

The ISI, according to the official, intends to include a retired and fully operationally ready soldier in each of these groups. Such personnel could lead the attacks more effectively because of their experience. Having served in the field for several years, they are also familiar with the terrain and other logistical aspects involved in such operations.

“Further, a retired soldier will command more respect in the respective batch he is posted in. Those operatives under him will derive a lot from his experience on the battlefield,” the official said.

The focus is more on the Lashkar at the moment, and such personnel are being recruited into this group.

“Compared with the Jaish and Hizbul Mujahideen, the Lashkar appears to be better prepared to carry out an operation in Jammu and Kashmir. The outfit has, for now, resolved its leadership issues, with Hafiz Saeed’s son, Talha Saeed, taking complete control,” officials said.

By recruiting former army personnel, the ISI can bypass one crucial stage, namely radicalisation, officials said.

Such individuals, they added, may already have undergone extensive ideological conditioning during their training and service, making them more readily deployable for violent operations. The strategy is also seen as part of Pakistan’s long-standing reliance on the “bleeding by a thousand cuts” doctrine against India.

With very basic training required and radicalisation not needed, it makes perfect sense for the ISI to rope in retired army personnel to be part of these terror groups, another official said.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 30 (SocialNews.XYZ) The National Investigation Agency's (NIA) probe into a cross-border terror conspiracy case has shifted focus to a group called Imam Mahmuder Kafila (IMK).

The name of the IMK cropped up during a radicalisation case stemming from Assam and has links in West Bengal and Kerala as well.

Intelligence dossiers link the IMK to the Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). The JMB is a proscribed terror group in India and has been active in running terror modules in West Bengal and Assam.

The JMB, through its various proxies, not only runs terror modules but also aids illegal immigration into India that is aimed at effecting demographic changes and inciting communal tensions.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that the IMK was launched in 2018. “However, its activities were relatively quiet. The outfit is headed by Jewel Mahmud alias Imam Mahmud Habibullah. He has been instrumental in setting up regional wings of the IMK in Assam and West Bengal. The NIA operation clearly shows that the IMK was trying to infiltrate Kerala,” the official said.

Another official said that the Bangladesh-based terror groups which indulge in terror acts and aid illegal immigration have been gradually shifting operations towards South India.

“This is to do with the fact that a large number of illegal immigrants have been moved into the southern states as there is heavy scrutiny on them in West Bengal and the northeastern states. In addition to avoiding scrutiny, the southern states are chosen thanks to better work opportunities in the construction and plantation sector,” the official said.

Another official said that the IMK had been specifically tasked by the JMB to set up terror modules in Assam, West Bengal and Kerala.

“The JMB, which is another ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) proxy, had been tasked with these regions and now it is clear that they are trying to expand operations in South India,” the official said.

The structure is a multi-layered one, and the trail starts from Bangladesh. To undertake these terror and illegal immigration operations, the JMB had selected Khalid and Umar to coordinate with operatives of the IMF.

The IMF was put in charge as the JMB did not want the trail reaching Bangladesh. Further, it wanted the locals to handle the operations and hence decided not to involve too many Bangladeshis in its operations, officials say.

Khalid and Umar coordinated these operations from Bangladesh. They remained in touch with Nasimuddin alias Tamim, a resident of Barpeta Road. He was in charge of the recruitments for the terror module. He also had under him several persons who were in charge of the radicalisation modules.

In Tripura, the point person was one Jagir Mia, who was also tasked by the Bangladesh-based handlers to radicalise and recruit, officials say.

The officials say that the IMK-operated module chose the name Purba Akash to carry out operations in India. They used this name to spread violent jihadi propaganda and also asked their recruits to heavily advocate for Ghazwa-e-Hind or the destruction of India.

The Tripura and Assam modules of the IMK did not go in for large-scale funding. The funding was decentralised, and they were in the process of carrying out a similar operation to fund their activities in South India. The funds being raised were in smaller villages, and they were of smaller denominations.

The first part of the plan was to set up terror modules in Assam, West Bengal and Kerala. The next phase of the plan was to expand in South India and tap into the Bangladeshis living there illegally to be part of these radicalisation and terror modules, an official said.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 29 (SocialNews.XYZ) Terrorist organisations operating against India switched to covert dead-drop techniques to transfer funds, weapons, and operational instructions, intelligence officials have revealed.

Groups including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), and the proscribed Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) adopted non-contact logistics to conceal the identity of handlers based in Pakistan.

Terrorism has evolved considerably, and this has led to the agencies facing fresh challenges with each passing year. Groups such as the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda have moved towards all radicalisation models while also relying heavily on lone actors to carry out attacks.

Terror groups that have been formed to hit India continue to use conventional methods when it comes to setting up modules and planning attacks. While groups such as the Lashkar and Jaish run conventional networks that also include radicalisation modules, they have started using dead-drop methods extensively.

An Intelligence Bureau official says that the primary objective of using the dead-drop technique is to evade the trail.

“The Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Babbar Khalsa International have increasingly used dead-drop methods in recent times. These methods are being used to channelise funds and weapons and to facilitate covert operations in India,” the IB official said.

Terror groups are increasingly moving away from physical handovers, which are considered risky and make it easier for security agencies to trace the chain of transactions and establish its links to Pakistan, the official said.

Apart from being dropped by drones, arms and ammunition are also being left in isolated locations and rural areas for subsequent collection.

“The arms and ammunition pass through multiple hands before being collected and eventually dropped at a designated location. Those involved in moving the consignments do not know who supplied them initially or who will ultimately collect them,” the officials said.

Even if one of those involved is caught, investigators would find it difficult to establish who initially supplied the consignment and who was supposed to collect it eventually, the officials added.

Another official said operations were also being planned using the dead-drop method. According to the official, all operatives involved in a plot share the login credentials of a single anonymous email account, allowing them to communicate without directly contacting one another.

Only one of the users writes a message and saves it in the draft folder. The other operative then logs in, reads the draft, deletes it, and then posts a fresh message in the draft folder. This eliminates hitting the send button altogether, and the message never moves through the Internet, thus making it difficult for the security agencies to track it down.

The official said that in recent times, even the SFJ that is headed by proscribed terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has been using the dead-drop technique.

This technique is used to send a message to the operatives on what they have to undertake.

Pannun, through this technique, instructs operatives in Punjab to indulge in vandalism. The agencies had recently arrested Preetpal Singh and his associates after they had spray-painted anti-BRICS and pro-Khalistan slogans in Delhi and Punjab.

The investigation found that the message and the money paid were delivered using the dead-drop method. Singh was paid Rs 1.5 lakh, and the money was kept at a dropped location on the Amritsar-Faridkot highway.

Indian security agencies are also concerned about the rise in narco-terrorism involving dead-drop methods. The traditional practice of directly handing over narcotics is increasingly being replaced by covert methods, with drones being used extensively to drop drug consignments into India.

The drop-off point is communicated to the person assigned to collect the consignment, who is then instructed to leave the narcotics at a pre-determined location, such as a field, an isolated stretch along a highway or a remote rural spot. The person delivering the consignment does not know who will eventually collect it.

Officials said this system creates multiple layers of separation, making it harder for investigators to trace the supply chain.

The dead-drop method is emerging as a major challenge for Indian security agencies. Since handlers and local operatives rarely, if ever, come face-to-face, investigators face greater difficulty in establishing a clear trail linking those involved.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which has been probing such cases, has been bypassing email inbox checks.

Instead, sophisticated forensic tools are used to pull raw disk data, unsent and deleted text drafts, and temporary cloud links. The NIA has also been working closely with the state agencies to stop locals from retrieving drops.

Terror groups would continue to use this method and also more extensively in the future as well. While the Indian agencies have managed to crack several such cases, it still poses a major challenge, an official said.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 29 (SocialNews.XYZ) Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) tweaked its operational strategy regarding India, choosing to prioritise widespread radicalisation and proxy recruitment over immediate, large-scale terror attacks, according to intelligence reports.

Security assessments indicate that Islamabad seeks to avoid major cross-border strikes that could provoke direct military retaliation while it attempts to project itself as a regional peacemaker on the global stage.

Pakistan has boasted of its ties with the United States and also sought to score brownie points by signing the Mecca Pact recently.

While Islamabad has managed to control the narrative to a certain extent, at home the situation has gone from bad to worse courtesy of security-related concerns and a failing economy.

Assessments by intelligence agencies suggest that while Pakistan has been actively plotting terror attacks against India, it is likely to avoid carrying out a major attack at this stage.

“The current priority of the dispensation in Pakistan is to focus on international relations rather than get drawn into trouble by carrying out an attack on Indian soil,” the IB official said.

The ISI is only looking at smaller attacks to keep the ship sailing. Moreover, it is focusing heavily on recruitment and propaganda across India. It has also been encouraging the setting up of home-grown terror modules in India.

“This is not just about Pakistan wanting to retain the deniability factor, but also about projecting itself as an international player and a global peacemaker,” the official added.

The officials, however, warn that while Pakistan may not be planning a major attack at present, security agencies must not lose sight of the large-scale radicalisation activities being planned by the ISI.

Over the past eight months, the ISI has been setting the field for widespread radicalisation across India.

Every attempt would be made to ensure that there is an uptick in radicalisation activity in the country, the official added.

Another official said that Islamabad and Rawalpindi are not thinking short-term. “They do not want to boost terror activities to a very large extent. In addition to driving radicalisation activity, it is also actively trying to build up a proxy network in Jammu and Kashmir,” the official said.

These proxy networks that the ISI is looking to create are not meant to carry out attacks in the near future in Jammu and Kashmir. In case of a full-blown escalation, which Pakistan sees taking place in the next three years, it would want these proxies to wage the battle against the Indian security forces rather than engaging its own army, the official added.

Pakistan may not be planning a major attack in India in the near future. However, officials say it is likely to continue backing proxy groups, increasing smuggling activity, expanding counterfeiting operations, and focusing heavily on recruitment and widespread radicalisation.

Another official explained that carrying out a major attack on Indian soil could derail Pakistan’s long-term plans. "Such an attack could also trigger a response similar to Operation Sindoor," the official said.

Instead, Pakistan would focus on a strategy of slowly bleeding India while training lakhs of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed operatives and preparing them for combat. Islamabad would seek to keep its army out of any possible direct conflict with India and instead rely on lakhs of mujahideen being trained to wage a proxy war against the country.

Pakistan feels that this, coupled with widespread radicalisation within India, would give it the upper hand in case of a full-blown escalation. The radicalised youth would back Pakistan, and they would run the narrative in favour of Islamabad. Moreover, getting the mujahideen to fight India instead of the army also keeps Pakistan safe from international pressure.

This, Pakistan feels, would help in bleeding India, while also maintaining its image on the global stage, another official said.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 28 (SocialNews.XYZ) The 2016 surgical strikes executed by the Indian Army to avenge the Uri attack fundamentally altered Pakistan's cross-border infiltration doctrine, forcing terror networks to abandon traditional Kashmir Valley launchpads and shift operations toward challenging terrains in the Jammu division.

An official said that the surgical strikes established a new normal by the Indian Army whereby terrorists would be pushed back frequently. “The strikes also broke Pakistan’s assumption of India’s strategic restraint,” the official said.

The surgical strikes forced a rethink in Pakistan’s strategy when it comes to infiltrations. The launchpads, usually set up near the dense forests of Kashmir, were shifted towards the Jammu region. They were set specifically in sectors like Poonch, Rajouri and Kathua.

“These terrains are extremely challenging, and terrorists face a lot of difficulties while trying to infiltrate owing to riverine gaps and broken topography,” the official said.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that post the surgical strikes, the strategy for countering infiltrations has completely changed. The intensified counter-infiltration grids and the heavy militarisation along the Line of Control (LoC) made it extremely tough for terrorists to enter Jammu and Kashmir, the IB official said.

To stop infiltration, about 700 km of the 740 km fence along the LoC have been upgraded to the ‘Smart Fence System.’ The grid now integrates optical, thermal, acoustic and infrared sensors along with AI-driven cameras.

This system instantly relays crosshairs and a real-time feed to the command centre when an infiltrator approaches.

Pakistan had also helped terror groups set up oxygen-fitted cross-border tunnels in the Jammu sector. To counter this, seismic ground sensors and hyperspectral imaging were deployed to catch disturbed earth and subterranean vibrations before a tunnel breaches the Indian side.

Another official said that following the surgical strikes and the stepped-up counter-infiltration measures by the Indian Army, the pattern of sending terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir has changed.

Earlier, a large group of poorly trained terrorists would infiltrate into India in very large numbers.

“That pattern has changed now, and Pakistan decided to send highly trained terrorists in smaller numbers. There have been infiltration attempts by terrorists in buddy pairs too in recent years,” the official added.

Pakistan has been desperately trying to rebuild its terror network in Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian security forces have dealt a bloody blow to all terror groups operating in Jammu and Kashmir.

In addition to dismantling the overground worker (OWG) network to a large extent, top commanders, their deputies and terrorists on the ground have been eliminated.

“Pakistan, which is desperate to piece together a large force of terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, is unable to do so. This is mainly because the infiltration pattern has changed and terrorists and attempts are being made to push terrorists into J&K in very small numbers,” the official said.

Following the surgical strikes, the Balakot air strike and Operation Sindoor, Pakistan has realised that it cannot afford to carry out audacious or high-profile attacks in India.

The terror tactics have changed, and Pakistan has not attempted attacks on the scale of Uri, Pulwama and Pahalgam. Instead, it has increasingly relied on propaganda warfare, disinformation campaigns and targeted ambushes against security convoys and migrant workers.

Further, Pakistan is operating through the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed’s proxies, The Resistance Front (TRF) and People’s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF). These are made to look like homegrown outfits, and in case of an attack, Pakistan hopes to get away using the deniability factor.

While avoiding the blame is one part of the reason to deploy proxies, Pakistan is mindful of India’s doctrine change whereby an act of terror would be considered an act of war and not cross-border terror, an official said.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 28 (SocialNews.XYZ) The cross-Line of Control military operations carried out on September 29, 2016, marked a decisive paradigm shift in India's national security strategy, establishing a high-precision deterrence model against cross-border terrorism sponsored by Pakistan.

Ten years ago, on September 29, 2016, the Indian Army carried out surgical strikes on terrorist launch pads along the Line of Control (LoC), in a military response to the Uri terror attack.

On September 18, 2016, heavily armed terrorists attacked an Army camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir, killing 19 soldiers.

The strikes marked a significant shift in India’s stated approach to cross-border terrorism.

Security experts say that this was a turning point in the battle against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. The Narendra Modi government had rewritten the doctrine when it came to fighting against Pakistan-sponsored terror.

An official said Pakistan had long escaped consequences after terror attacks allegedly carried out with the involvement or support of groups based in the country. At most, India would issue a demarche to the Pakistani envoy.

“India would condemn an attack, raise it internationally and hand over dossiers seeking action against those responsible. The approach allowed Pakistan to assume that India would not go beyond diplomatic pressure,” the official said

The 26/11 Mumbai attacks were a classic example of how Pakistan yet again managed to get away, especially after such an audacious strike.

“However, the 2016 surgical strikes changed all of that. Pakistan got the message loud and clear that terror attacks would not be taken lightly anymore and there would be severe consequences too,” the official said.

Another official said the surgical strikes sent a strong message to Pakistan and set the stage for two subsequent major military operations.

The Balakot airstrike and Operation Sindoor were undertaken by the Indian armed forces to avenge the Pulwama and Pahalgam attacks, respectively. India had made it clear that it would not take such attacks lying down and that there would be severe consequences that would follow, the official said.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that in addition to the message that had been sent to Pakistan, the surgical strikes also gave a boost to the country’s security forces.

“When audacious attacks such as those in Uri and Pahalgam result in the loss of security personnel, it is important to respond firmly. If no action is taken, it can demoralise the security forces,” the official said.

Officials said the approach of the security forces changed after the surgical strikes. They realised that hitting Pakistan hard in response to its terror activities was also a way of avenging the loss of their colleagues.

This instilled a sense of confidence within the security apparatus. One indication of the boost the surgical strikes gave the security agencies was their subsequent ability to dismantle terror networks in Jammu and Kashmir.

There have been major attacks in the Valley post the surgical strikes, and each one of them has been answered with an iron fist. However, compared with what the Valley was witnessing before the 2016 surgical strikes, the situation has improved largely, officials say.

An official said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi rightly pointed out on Sunday that the surgical strikes made it clear that terrorism will be met with a strong and decisive response.

In his “Mann ki Baat” address, PM Modi said the surgical strikes presented a bold new example of India’s counter-terror policy in front of the entire world.

He even said that India had endured pain for a long time due to terror attacks and the surgical strikes were a response to that agony.

The surgical strikes were a bold move by the Indian armed forces, who were cleared by the Centre to enter Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and dismantle terror camps and launch pads.

There were scores of launch pads in PoK, which were holding terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen.

The surgical strikes destroyed these camps, as a result of which infiltration by terrorists was prevented to a large extent. After the strikes, Pakistan withdrew several other launchpads and even moved its terrorists further back, thus making infiltrations more challenging, an official said.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 26 (SocialNews.XYZ) Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's direct threat at the United Nations General Assembly that any attempt to “stop, impede or divert” its share of the Indus waters would be treated as an “act of war” is significant.

Beyond rhetoric, it reveals, perhaps for the first time in decades, that Pakistan is publicly acknowledging the impact of a pressure point that directly affects its national interests.

Earlier, a major blow was the 1971 war that resulted in Pakistan's military defeat with the surrender of over 90,000 troops in Dhaka, and the creation of Bangladesh. The loss was widely viewed within Pakistan as trauma and humiliation.

Now, Sharif’s statement is significant in the context of Pakistan’s not-so-covert war on its neighbour through cross-border terrorism. Since the decisive 1971 loss, Pakistan increasingly relied on asymmetric warfare rather than conventional military confrontation.

Terror groups operating from Pakistan, or supported by networks within, targeted India repeatedly. The list of major attacks is long and painful. Jammu and Kashmir witnessed decades of insurgency and terrorism beginning in the late 1980s.

The 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament brought the two nuclear-armed states to the brink of war. The 2008 Mumbai attacks, carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists, killed 166 people and shocked the world. Successive Indian governments largely limited themselves to diplomatic protests, international campaigns, and defensive counterterrorism measures.

Subsequent attacks included the 2016 Pathankot airbase attack, the 2016 Uri attack on an Army brigade headquarters, the 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing that killed 40 CRPF personnel, and the 2025 Pahalgam attack that triggered a fresh deterioration in bilateral relations.

Following the Uri attack, India conducted surgical strikes across the Line of Control, specifically targeting terrorist launch pads, ending the practice of strategic restraint. An even stronger signal emerged after the 2019 Pulwama attack when India carried out airstrikes on Balakot, targeting terror infrastructure deep inside Pakistani territory.

Whether viewed from a military or political perspective, the action broke another psychological barrier by demonstrating India's willingness to strike beyond the Line of Control.

The most consequential shift came after the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack. India launched Operation Sindoor, a major counterterror response. References to the operation now appear regularly in Pakistan's own political discourse, including Sharif's UN speech, which discussed the military confrontation that followed the Pahalgam attack.

However, it was the Indus Waters that became strategically important after the military responses. Signed in 1960 with World Bank mediation, the treaty allocated the three eastern rivers -- Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej -- for India's unrestricted use, while the three western rivers -- Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab -- were allocated primarily to Pakistan, subject to specified Indian rights and uses.

The treaty remained in effect through the wars of 1965, 1971, and 1999, as well as decades of political hostility. But following the Pahalgam attack, India placed the treaty in abeyance and stated that this position would continue until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably ended support for cross-border terrorism.

The Indus issue touches Pakistan's core economic interests, especially agriculture, supporting a large part of its irrigation, and is therefore deeply linked to food security, energy generation, and rural livelihoods.

Several analyses note Pakistan's heavy dependence on the western rivers allocated under the treaty. For decades, Pakistan-sponsored terrorism has been bleeding India, while Islamabad openly, “politically and morally,” supported the violence and subversive activities, especially in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Indus question has altered that equation. It signals that India is increasingly willing to connect the broader bilateral relationship, including terrorism, with arrangements that had previously been treated as insulated from security disputes.

Thus, Sharif's latest utterances, beyond serving as a warning, are also an admission of vulnerability. Because the current situation reflects a transformation in Indian strategic thinking from rhetoric to a combination of military, economic, and resource-based pressure.

Whether this strategy will ultimately succeed in changing Pakistan's behaviour remains an open question, but Islamabad has indeed been made to realise that the costs of confrontation are no longer confined to speeches, dossiers, and diplomatic exchanges.

A firm message has been delivered, where, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Blood and water cannot flow together”.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 26 (SocialNews.XYZ) Pakistan is witnessing a virtual lockdown ahead of the massive march planned by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. The march originally scheduled to be held on September 27 will now take place on October 4.

Intelligence assessments say that the march would well be a defining moment for the Pakistani establishment, especially the military. The PTI has said that this march would not be a symbolic one. Instead, the idea is to seek a permanent and once-and-for-all overhaul to dismantle a corrupt political system in Pakistan.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that the establishment in Pakistan realises that this march would be hard to contain. It has sealed off both Islamabad and Rawalpindi, while enforcing strict lockdowns at key entry corridors, the official said.

An official said that the focus is more on Rawalpindi as it houses the Pakistan Army’s General Headquarters and the Military Intelligence directorate. The PTI is directing all its anger against the military. It has accused Field Marshal Asim Munir of orchestrating the illegal detention of PTI founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan. The protesters would look to enter Rawalpindi and challenge the military, the official also said.

Another official said that hotels, businesses and restaurants have been ordered to shut down ahead of the march. Rawalpindi would remain a no-go zone until the protests are over. The shutdown is an indefinite one, and this shows how worried the Pakistan military is about the protests, the official added.

The establishment has also decided to shut down transport services that ferry people to Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The idea is to make it hard for the protesters to reach these places and gather in large numbers, officials say. The Pakistani security forces have also enforced container blockades across Islamabad and the border corridors.

Officials say that the protests are likely to turn bloody. Both sides are unwilling to give in, and there is every possibility of the security forces using brute force to curb the protesters. This explains the deployment of heavy machinery at entry points at Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Anticipating large-scale violence and the use of force by the security agencies, hospitals across Rawalpindi and Islamabad have been placed on alert. Hospitals have also been told to postpone non-essential medical procedures and focus more on mass injuries and casualties that are anticipated during the protests.

The establishment does not want the protesters to move beyond Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). Heavy shipping containers, which have been fitted with metal spike rods and tyre-puncturing barriers, have been set up across the Attock Bridge.

This has been done to prevent the protesters from moving beyond KP and, more importantly, from gaining access to Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Owing to these extreme measures taken by the Pakistani establishment, the PTI was forced to postpone its protests from September 27 to October 4. The PTI is demanding the release of Imran Khan, who has been in jail since 2023.

The PTI is also demanding the restoration of constitutional and political rights. The other demands include proper medical care for the people of KP and a complete overhaul of the system.

The Indian Intelligence agencies are closely watching the developments. The current assessment is that the military would use brute force against the protesters, which could also result in casualties. The protesters, on the other hand, are determined and ready to bite the bullet so that their demands are met.

The week ahead for Pakistan would be a hard one, and the atmosphere is likely to remain tense for a long time due to the confrontation between the protesters and the Pakistani security forces, an official said.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 26 (SocialNews.XYZ) Islamabad's recent reshuffle within the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has reportedly brought hardliners to key positions, with Indian intelligence agencies assessing that one of their primary objectives could be reviving militancy in Jammu and Kashmir through a strategy reminiscent of the "Burhan Wani model".

According to intelligence inputs, the ISI is reassessing its approach in Jammu and Kashmir after the limited success of proxy outfits created in the aftermath of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani's death in 2016. Officials believe the agency is seeking to cultivate a charismatic local figure capable of attracting Kashmiri youth to militancy, much like Wani did during his rise.

Following his death, the ISI created proxies such as The Resistance Front and People’s Anti Fascist Front (PAFF). They are in reality just fronts of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed respectively.

The ISI also tried to legitimise the attacks taking place in Jammu and Kashmir. The Resistance Front on October 7, 2021, released a statement claiming responsibility for killing two teachers at a government school in Srinagar. The proxy alleged that the teachers had harassed parents and threatened consequences if students did not take part in India’s Independence Day celebrations.

In its revived strategy, the ISI stopped using Arabic and religious names for its terror groups. Names such as The Resistance Front and PAFF were used for terror groups operating in Jammu and Kashmir. Further, terrorists were referred to as freedom fighters and the Indian forces as occupational forces.

An official said that a lot has changed after the abrogation of Article 370. The Indian security forces were successful in dismantling huge terror networks in Jammu and Kashmir. Further, many in J&K began to appreciate the change as tourism got a boost, and this led to a direct increase in the income of the people of J&K, the official said.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that the post-Wani strategy is no longer working. Despite all the claims, everyone realised that, be it The Resistance Front or the PAFF, they were Pakistani by origin and proxies of the Islamabad-funded Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, the official said.

The new brass in the ISI is expected to make drastic changes in its Jammu and Kashmir strategy. They would look to bring back the Burhan Wani model, as back in the day it was extremely successful. The biggest problem for the ISI today is homegrown recruitment. The recruitment model during the Wani days was probably the most successful. It saw a large number of youth joining the Hizbul Mujahideen, and this had become a nightmare for the security agencies, the official said.

Another official said creating another Burhan Wani also aligns with the ISI’s plan of reviving the Hizbul Mujahideen, which was a thoroughbred homegrown outfit. The ISI wants to reduce the presence of Pakistani terrorists by a lot and would prefer to have a module that is all Kashmiri, the official said.

Wani had become a social media star. His images were sufficient for many youth to take up arms and be part of the Hizbul Mujahideen. There was not much scouting to be done, and even the radicalisation classes were not necessary, thanks to the presence of Wani, the official said.

Wani not only managed to bring in recruits, but his messages also helped in coordinating protests and stone pelting in Jammu and Kashmir by the youth. The ISI has factored in all these aspects and feels that bringing back the Wani style of terror would help in bringing in the youth and establishing a fully homegrown terror module.

India’s changed doctrine of treating every act of terror as an act of war and not a cross-border strike has necessitated this decision by the ISI to have a fully homegrown outfit in Jammu and Kashmir. The ISI feels that bringing back the Burhan Wani style of terror and reviving the Hizbul Mujahideen is their best bet for now, an official said.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 25 (SocialNews.XYZ) India’s intelligence agencies have launched heightened surveillance on small, secret gatherings across South Indian states following reports that the Islamic State is deploying a micro-group strategy to radicalise local youth.

The Islamic State, which maintains a significant presence in parts of the region, has reportedly succeeded in radicalising a large number of young people.

The group, which has focused considerable attention on southern India, has increasingly adopted a broader radicalisation strategy to influence the mindset of sections of society and create a wider support base for its ideology.

An official said that while online radicalisation efforts are continuing, security agencies are maintaining a close watch on meetings and gatherings being held across southern states, particularly in Tamil Nadu.

“The Islamic State has been focusing heavily on this state (Tamil Nadu), where it has found considerable success since its inception in 2014,” the official said.

An Intelligence Bureau official said those indoctrinated and radicalised by the Islamic State are holding meetings to discuss and propagate the outfit’s ideology.

“The meetings are attended by not more than three to four persons, and this is a deliberate ploy to evade the attention of the security agencies,” the official also said.

The Islamic State wants to replicate its Tamil Nadu playbook in the rest of South India as well. These meetings also discuss ways to set up the Tamil Nadu model in Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

While the outfit does have its presence in all these states, the scale of radicalisation is not much as compared to Tamil Nadu.

Another official said that although the Islamic State's major priority is just radicalisation for the moment, it would be more than welcome if any of the youth take up a lone-actor assignment.

In addition to the expansion plans for South India, these meetings are also intended to discuss possible targets in the state and beyond to be executed by lone actors. The intelligence agencies have learnt that most of the future terror attacks would be executed by lone actors.

They are taking a cue from the Jameesha Mubin incident in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, on October 23, 2022. Mubin attempted to carry out a blast using a vehicle near the Sangameshwar Temple in Kottaimedu, Coimbatore. He failed to reach the intended target and was killed when the vehicle exploded.

Officials say that although Mubin was not successful, he had managed to conceal his plans and evade the attention of intelligence agencies.

“Prior to the incident, he was involved in fundraising and was also part of several meetings, all of which went undetected. The actual plan came to light only once the explosion took place,” the official said.

The Enforcement Directorate found that Mubin and his associates had raised funds by running a fake COVID-19 vaccination certificate programme. They were also fraudulently collecting donations at the Kovai Arabic College in Coimbatore. The vaccination funds were generated from people who wanted fake certificates without the actual vaccination.

The meetings are similar to those that Mubin was known to attend, an official said. The gatherings are kept small, which helps those involved evade detection. No material, including pamphlets or books, is distributed during these meetings.

According to the official, discussions focus on three key areas: radicalisation, identifying potential targets for lone actors, and spreading the Islamic State’s ideology across South India.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 25 (SocialNews.XYZ) Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has reportedly changed its approach towards fugitive underworld figure Dawood Ibrahim, with greater emphasis now being placed on keeping him secure and moving him to a location near Karachi port.

Intelligence officials said the move is aimed at protecting the narcotics network linked to him while reducing the risk of international scrutiny falling on Islamabad.

He is considered a key figure in the syndicate that has been operating a narcotics smuggling network in India for several years.

For the Pakistani spy agency, which has supported Dawood Ibrahim over the years, the current situation is proving increasingly difficult. The agency needs funds to sustain terror groups such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

Intelligence inputs suggest that this has increased the pressure on the network to expand the narcotics trade substantially.

An official said the ISI would have wanted Dawood Ibrahim to use his network to significantly expand narcotics smuggling operations. “However, the focus now is more on creating escape routes, taking care of his health and also ensuring his safety,” the official said.

While Dawood is reportedly suffering from several health problems, he is alive and continues to remain in Karachi. Following Operation Sindoor in May last year, the ISI is believed to have stepped up his security and moved him between different locations to avoid detection.

“He is currently living near a port in Karachi, and this location was chosen so that he could make a quick escape in case of an Indian operation that would look to target him,” the official added.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that the reason he is being kept at a location from where he could make a quick escape is that if he is killed in an operation, then it would become amply clear that Pakistan has been housing him.

Islamabad has over the years vehemently denied his presence in Pakistan.

While Operation Sindoor inflicted significant damage on Pakistan’s terror infrastructure, it also altered the operating environment for the Dawood syndicate. Dawood, who had largely remained in the security of his Karachi residence, was forced to change his movements and operating pattern following the operation.

“Today when it comes to Dawood, the ISI is focusing more on ensuring his protection rather than using him for operations,” the IB official added.

The Narendra Modi government’s intensified crackdown on drugs has also disrupted the ISI’s plans to a considerable extent. The arrest of Dawood’s close aide, Salim Dola, has unsettled the syndicate’s international operations and disrupted established supply chains. In India, enforcement agencies are continuing their relentless pursuit of narcotics networks and cartels.

Another official said that in such a situation, Dawood becomes extremely handy for the ISI. There are the likes of Anees Ibrahim, Chhota Shakeel and Haji Salim to run the show. But Dawood is a cult figure for the syndicate, and with him not to be seen, many of the operatives have developed low morale, the official said.

The ISI would look for ways to ramp up narcotics smuggling in India. There is a major push that is being made through Punjab. However, the ISI would want the trade to thrive in all parts of the country, as raising funds from only Punjab operations is not sufficient to nurture the various terror groups in Pakistan, officials say.

In addition to Dawood’s poor health and security issues, there is also a succession battle within the syndicate. Shakeel feels he is far more useful and has contributed much more than the rest for the syndicate.

However, the family members are rooting for Dawood’s brother Anees Ibrahim to take charge, officials also point out.

Another official said that the ISI has multiple problems when it comes to the Dawood syndicate.

It cannot afford so many problems, especially with this syndicate at a time when it wants to raise funds in a big way through narcotics smuggling.

On the other hand, concealing his location and not letting the world know that he is in Pakistan is also important for the ISI. The country is also under close scrutiny by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and hence it becomes important to secure and cover Dawood Ibrahim, who is a key figure in terror funding, counterfeiting, and money laundering.

A weakened D-Company is good news for the Indian security agencies. Such issues would help the investigating agencies crack cases better and further weaken the Dawood network within India.

If the agencies manage to do this, a considerable amount of the narcotics smuggling problem in the country would be solved, an official said.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 24 (SocialNews.XYZ) When Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah takes the podium early morning Friday (India time) to address the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), he intends to highlight how climate change has devastated livelihoods in low-carbon-emitting countries like his and argue that such nations deserve climate justice and compensation from the international community, according to reports.

Kathmandu has raised the issue earlier too and is set to emphasise it further during the Prime Minister’s visit, which is incidentally his first trip abroad since assuming office six months earlier.

It comes as Nepal seeks to turn the devastation caused by the August 26 Bhotekoshi floods into a broader international campaign for climate finance, loss-and-damage support and greater cooperation on Himalayan disasters, reported Kathmandu Post on Thursday.

Shah will draw international attention to the recurring loss of lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure caused by climate change, and seek greater international support for recovery, reconstruction, and climate resilience, according to a government official familiar with the preparations, it added.

Meanwhile, Minister for Foreign Affairs Shishir Khanal has underscored the need for long-term support from G-7 and the international community for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Nepal affected by recent climate-induced disasters, including Bhotekoshi, added Kantipur News.

Stating that more than $5 billion would be needed, as per the preliminary assessment, he called for giving priority to climate finance, concessional resources, disaster preparedness, multilateral financial cooperation and protection of the Himalayan region.

According to a separate report, Nepal’s border with China triggered a devastating flood this August that killed more than 1,400 people and left more than 5,000 missing.

“A recent scientific assessment found that human-caused warming likely increased the risk of the conditions that contributed to the disaster,” it added.

The country was hit by a devastating Himalayan deluge last month after an ice-rock collapse and glacier-related disaster near the Nepal-China border triggered massive flooding in the Bhotekoshi River basin.

Scientists and international experts said the disaster highlighted growing concerns that climate change is destabilising glaciers and mountain slopes across the Himalayas.

Satellite imagery and subsequent analyses suggested that glacier collapse, possibly exacerbated by unusually warm conditions and accelerating ice melt, was a key factor behind the catastrophe. The Himalayan warning cannot be ignored.

Nepal contributes a negligible share of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet it bears a disproportionately large burden of climate-induced disasters. That is why Kathmandu has increasingly used international platforms, from the UNGA and UN climate conferences to the Sagarmatha Sambaad dialogue process, to sound the alarm about the deteriorating ecology of the Himalayas and demand climate justice.

The high‑mountain region in Asia, primarily the Himalaya, Hindu Kush, and Tibetan Plateau, is often called the “Third Pole” as it holds the largest volume of ice and snow outside the Arctic and Antarctic, spanning about 5 million sq. km. and feeding major rivers that support close to two billion people.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres, during his 2023 Nepal visit, emphasised that the “rooftops of the world are caving in” because of accelerating glacier melt.

In subsequent remarks, he reiterated that climate impacts in the Himalayas are arriving faster and with greater intensity than previously anticipated.

When these glaciers retreat, glacial lakes expand, permafrost thaws, and weather patterns become increasingly erratic, with consequences extending beyond Nepal’s borders. In September 2024, too, extreme rainfall triggered catastrophic floods and landslides across large parts of the country, taking more than 200 lives and damaging infrastructure.

Nepal’s Department of Hydrology and Meteorology reported record-breaking precipitation in several districts, with rivers in the Bagmati, Narayani and Koshi basins swelling beyond historic flood levels.

Meteorologists and disaster experts caution that weather alone does not tell the entire story. The severity of the flooding was magnified by rapid urbanisation, inadequate drainage systems, encroachment on floodplains, poorly planned development and deforestation in vulnerable catchment areas.

Studies of the 2024 floods also identified unplanned construction and weak infrastructure as major factors that worsened the impact. Hydropower projects, agriculture, tourism, and water resources, though pillars of the national economy, are all vulnerable to changing climatic conditions.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 24 (SocialNews.XYZ) The operational landscape in Balochistan has witnessed a major tactical shift as female combat units belonging to the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) carry out direct armed assaults targeting Pakistani security convoys and military installations.

A Pakistani military convoy was ambushed recently near Turbat in Balochistan, and this was claimed by the newly formed female unit of the BLF.

The unit, which goes by the name Karima Armed Assault Division (KAAD), ambushed a convoy of the Pakistan Army’s Action Task Force on the CPEC highway near Jusak, which is close to Turbat.

An official said women in Balochistan were no longer merely passive observers of the separatist movement.

“Over time, their involvement expanded from activism and political mobilisation to support roles for the BLA and BLF. The significant change now is the reported direct participation of women in attacks targeting Pakistani security forces,” the official said.

One of the first known cases of direct involvement by a woman was that of Shari Baloch. She carried out a suicide attack at the Karachi University’s Confucius Institute in April 2022.

Three Chinese teachers and their Pakistani driver were killed in the attack. Shari Baloch was attached to the BLA, and she set the stage for more women to join the female units of this group, the official added.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that the BLF too adopted the same approach in 2025.

That year, Kareena Rafiq carried out a vehicle-borne attack against a Frontier Corps facility in Nokundi. A year later, the BLA too said that its women’s squad was involved in the February 2026 offensive against the Pakistani forces that was called Operation Herod 2.0.

The BLA then went on to make a formal announcement regarding the formation of its women’s wing. It appointed Shahnaz Baloch as its commander. These developments that took place within the BLA and BLF marked a major shift in the style of operations, and this only added to the already existing woes of the Pakistani establishment.

Another official said that as the days go by, these women's groups are only going to get stronger.

At first, it was thought the male members of the BLA and BLF were the ones placing the women in front. However, the fact is that these women are joining these groups voluntarily and are ready to be part of dangerous missions such as suicide attacks.

The women in Balochistan are completely aligned with the cause of the BLA and BLF, the official said.

“While some have gone on to become part of the attack squads, many still spread political messages, raise funds, take part in protests and also support families of the fighters. It has become like one big family whereby everyone feels the need to be involved in this battle against the Pakistani establishment,” the official added.

While frustration among the people of Balochistan has driven both men and women towards armed resistance, officials believe there is another reason behind the emergence of female units. Their participation is also intended to send a strong message that the movement represents a broader common cause and that the struggle involves people across gender lines. The involvement of women also seeks to highlight claims that alleged repression by Pakistani security forces has reached a point where even women have been drawn into the armed conflict.

Moreover, the participation of women in these groups is also seen as a message to men who have stayed away from the armed struggle. According to the official, some men have subsequently joined the BLA and BLF because they felt social pressure and feared being viewed as unwilling to support the cause.

For the record, 8,000 people have gone missing since the mid-2000s, according to human rights groups.

In recent months, the figures have spiked, which has led to further frustration among the people of Balochistan. There has also been a spike in extra-judicial killings and abductions. Students, political activists, teachers, journalists and lawyers have been frequently targeted.

Human rights groups have repeatedly said that bodies that are bullet-ridden after being tortured mercilessly have been found.

When it comes to the people of Balochistan, the Pakistani security forces have adopted the ‘kidnap, kill and dump’ policy.

For several years, the people of Balochistan have been seeking better facilities for the region. The region holds vast natural wealth that includes massive reserves of natural gas, gold, coal, copper, and Uranium.

Despite this, Balochistan remains Pakistan’s most underdeveloped region. These are the reasons why both men and women have decided to battle it out together against the Pakistani establishment, an official said.

Source: IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 24 (SocialNews.XYZ) Investigations by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have exposed a complex narco-terror funding network operating across India, revealing how drug proceeds are channelled through illicit hawala routes and invested in domestic businesses to finance cross-border terrorism, according to officials.

The battle against narcotics smuggling, particularly its links to terror financing, has emerged as a major priority for the Indian government.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said the Narendra Modi government would leave no stone unturned to make India drug-free and that the fight against the narcotics menace would now be intensified at the district level.

Several agencies, including state police forces, the Intelligence Bureau, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Customs and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), are working to dismantle drug networks.

However, investigations by the ED have brought to light another dimension of the problem. Recent probes by the ED have revealed how money earned through narcotics trade is making its way in and out of the country. A shocking revelation that came out of the ED probe was that the money that has been coming in is being invested in legitimate ventures.

An official said that the kind of investments being made in India look legitimate until the trail of the funds is traced.

“The money that is generated from drug smuggling moves in multiple directions. A syndicate backed by the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) has its wings in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Dubai,” the official said.

The money first reaches Dubai, after which the hawala route is used to channelise the money into Pakistan, Afghanistan and India.

The money that reaches the ISI’s assets in Pakistan and Afghanistan is used entirely to fund terror activities against India, the official said.

Another official said that the money that reaches India through a hawala channel is meant to be parked until further orders. Those part of the syndicate in India are instructed to park the money in legitimate businesses.

Take the case of Gaurav Dawar, an accused in a heroin smuggling case. His arrest took place following major seizures in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana. This case came to light following the busting of a Rs 3,000 crore heroin smuggling case in Gujarat, in which one Harpreet Singh was named as the prime accused by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Investigations revealed that Dawar and Harpreet were reporting to one Vitaysh Koser alias Raju Dubai. Koser, according to the probe, was working on the instructions of ISI assets based out of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Dawar and Harpreet were roped in by Koser to facilitate narcotics smuggling in India. They would regularly visit Dubai, where they would be paid in kind and also cash. The in-kind payments included cigarettes that are prohibited in India, dry dates, perfumes and betel nut consignments.

Officials say that these smugglers avoid routing cash through electronic bank transfers from across the border as it would immediately trigger the attention of the authorities. By exchanging high-value physical commodities, syndicates avoid the placement stage of money laundering completely eliminate the digital or paper trail.

Commodities such as cigarettes have a high demand and are lucrative due to big differences in global tax rates. Smugglers exploit bootlegging to clear massive profits with less risk when compared to moving narcotics. Perfumes and dried dates are compact and have high demand, carrying premium street value.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that these are relatively safer payments that are made to those indulging in the narcotics trade in India.

“Instead of cash, they are paid in kind to avoid alerting the agencies,” the official said.

The ED probe also found that Dawar had made investments in two Delhi nightclubs, Playboy Club and White Club, that were being operated through an entity called Newera Feast and Hospitality Pvt. Ltd.

An official explained that such clubs are used to fabricate ghost customers. Launderers inject illicit cash into the daily earnings registry. They also create fake bookings, dummy restaurant orders, and then mix dirty money with legitimate daily sales. Further, such clubs or bars are also used to sell cigarettes and perfumes at retail margins. This is then turned into legal business cash.

It has also been found that such hospitality businesses fund terror indirectly. Goods such as kitchen equipment, imported linens, and specialised food are purchased from an overseas shell company that is controlled by a terror network.

They overpay these companies and accept fake invoices for these goods. What looks like a normal trade operation is actually an indirect way of terror funding through these overseas shell companies that are controlled by terror groups, an official said.

Source: IANS

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