New Delhi: The two doctors from Kashmir who were arrested in Faridabad (Haryana) and Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh) were part of the Jaish-e-Mohammad and Ansar Ghazwatul Hind (AGH). The AGH is an affiliate of Al-Qaeda, and these arrests show that the terror group is now working closely with the Jaish-e-Mohammad in India.
The AGH, which was active in Jammu and Kashmir for a couple of years, was wiped out completely. However, these arrests show that the AGH is working closely with the Jaish-e-Mohammad with an aim of reviving itself.
During Operation Sindoor, groups such as the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, Hizbul Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Mohammad faced severe losses. Since then, all these groups have been trying to make a comeback. Several attempts were made at infiltration, but they were all tackled by the security agencies.
Al-Qaeda had launched the AGH for operations specific to Jammu and Kashmir. However, the outfit hardly had any success, and in 2019, the police announced that the group had been completely wiped out. However, now it is attempting to make a return and focus on Jammu and Kashmir. For this, it has activated its operatives in India.
The ISI hopes that activating modules within India and then using them in Jammu and Kashmir would revive terror-related activities in the Valley. The scale of the revival was a huge one, and the busting of this module in UP and Haryana can be considered a major counter terrorism success. The police seized 3,000 kilograms of explosives, chemicals, reagents, inflammable material, electronic circuits and timers along with guns, arms and ammunition. The police kept a close tab on the activities of this module before busting it.
Officials say that it is clear that the Jaish-e-Mohammad and the AGH were working together with the larger intention of carrying out terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir.
Since Operation Sindoor, the ISI wants terror groups to put up a united front. In Bangladesh, the ISI had instructed terror groups to work as one unit so that there is no let up and putting up a united front would mean having a stronger force.
After Operation Sindoor, the ISI has pulled the Resistance Front out of the picture. It made an attempt of trying to revive the Hizbul Mujahideen, but has not been successful in doing so. The AGH, which was launched for India-specific operations, has several locals who are part of it. This serves the ISI’s purposes of launching a fully homegrown terror group in Jammu and Kashmir.
The AGH, with its local operatives, fits into the scheme for things for the ISI. While the plan was to set up a localised group in Jammu and Kashmir, the plans of these modules were also to carry out attacks in several parts of North India. If one looks at the manner in which this module operated, it is clear that it had a good amount of funding.
Further, the operatives also worked in a professional manner and only communicated through encrypted channels. They were in touch with their handlers in Pakistan, from whom they were getting instructions. The funds, too, were raised through charity to avoid suspicion and detection by the agencies.
Investigations into this module are ongoing, and the police say that the operatives have support from people in many parts of Kashmir. Raids were also conducted at Srinagar, Anantnag, Ganderbal, and Shopian in Kashmir.
Intelligence Bureau officials say that with terrorists finding it hard to infiltrate, the ISI is tapping every resource it has within India. The bigger intention is to send all these people to Jammu and Kashmir so that they can carry out major terror attacks.
The sheer quantity that has been found in the seizure is a clear indicator that the ISI wants to disrupt peace in Jammu and Kashmir in a very big way, an official added.
(IANS)
