| ISI’s new game plan aims to rebuild terror networks | | Pak agency luring local youth to exfiltrate to Pakistan, PoJK | | Sanjay Pandita
Early Times Report
Jammu, Jan 8: Security agencies in Jammu and Kashmir have sounded a high alert after detecting a chilling revival of a 1990s-style exfiltration racket, with locals once again being lured to cross over into Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) and Pakistan under the influence of terror handlers and the ISI.
Officials say the disturbing trend, which had largely been crushed after 1990s, is making a dangerous comeback, forcing agencies to launch an aggressive crackdown to choke the networks facilitating these crossings.
In a strong signal of zero tolerance, Poonch Police recently attached properties of Pakistan-based terror handlers Rafiq Nai and Jamal Lone, both accused of aiding infiltration and actively诱ring residents of J&K to exfiltrate to Pakistan and PoJK. Lone, police said, had himself crossed over to PoJK years ago and has since been operating as a conduit for anti-India activities.
Intelligence officials reveal that Pakistan is desperate to recruit more locals from J&K to strengthen terror logistics on both sides of the Line of Control. These recruits are being used not only for narco-smuggling and counterfeit operations, but also as terror guides to help Pakistani terrorists sneak into Indian territory.
“The ISI wants guides who know every trail, forest track, and mountain pass. Locals from border belts are their prime targets,” sources said.
Alarmingly, agencies have noted that mosque announcements across the border — a tactic last seen in the 1990s — have resurfaced, urging people from J&K to cross over with promises of money, protection, and a ‘better life’. While the scale is not yet comparable to the peak terrorism years, officials warn that the push is intense and highly coordinated.
Ironically, intelligence inputs suggest that many who crossed over in earlier years later regretted the move, realizing that life across the border was fa Security agencies have launched an aggressive crackdown to choke the networks facilitating any crossings to otherside.
Poonch Police recently attached properties of Pakistan-based terror handlers Rafiq Nai and Jamal Lone, both accused of aiding infiltration.
Pakistan is desperate to recruit more locals from J&K to strengthen terror logistics on both sides of the Line of Control.
These recruits are being used not only for narco-smuggling and counterfeit operations, but also as terror guides to help Pakistani terrorists to sneak into Indian territory.
This time, however, agencies warn that the strategy is far more sophisticated.
“It’s not just money or jobs anymore. The ISI has launched a full-blown propaganda war targeting youth through social media and encrypted platforms,” a source said, calling digital disinformation the biggest recruitment weapon today.
After the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, India’s retaliatory Operation Sindoor inflicted heavy damage on Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, wiping out cadres and infrastructure. Since then, direct infiltration has become extremely difficult, prompting Pakistan to shift to home-grown terror modules and localized OGW (Over Ground Worker) networks — including women operatives, officials said.
The renewed push for exfiltration, agencies believe, is part of this localized terror blueprint, aimed at creating sleeper cells, guides, smugglers and logistics handlers drawn from within J&K itself.
“In the last few months, the ISI has launched a focused operation to pull locals out of J&K, train them, and then redeploy them for narco-terror, counterfeiting and guiding infiltrators,” sources said, adding that border districts like Poonch and Rajouri are once again in the crosshairs — exactly as they were in the 1990s.
Security agencies have now launched a multi-agency offensive, tracking handlers, freezing assets and seizing properties of those operating from across the border while recruiting fresh operatives on this side.
“The message is clear: anyone facilitating or encouraging exfiltration will face the full force of the law,” sources said, warning that the crackdown will intensify in the coming days as agencies race to crush the revived terror pipeline before it spirals into a larger crisis. |
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