SRI NAGAR: A plot by Pakistani spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to revive militancy in Jammu region was uncovered with the arrest of six persons, officials said on Friday.
Photographs and videos of strategic locations were seized of them.
The six spies were in direct contact with their handler, an officer of the rank of colonel at ISI’s Kashmir cell, identified only by his first name Iftikhar.
They were also in touch with Hizb-ul-Mujahideen.
Two of the spies were arrested in May for shooting videos and taking photographs outside the Ratnuchak Military Station in Jammu.
Militants have tried to target the sensitive military station, most recently in December when they opened fire on a sentry at an outpost.
During interrogation, Mushtaq Ahmed Malik (38), from Doda district, and Nadeem Akhter (24), from Kathua district, told security officials that they were also being guided by their handlers in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
They also disclosed information about four others engaged as Pakistani spies in Jammu region, officials said. Based on that information, Saddam Hussain, Mohmmad Saleem and Mohmmad Shafi, all from Kathua district, and Safdar Ali, from Basantgarh in Udhampur district, were arrested, the officials said.
The spies revealed that they were tasked by the ISI officer with reviving militancy in Jammu by recruiting youth in the region. The Hizbul commanders guiding them were originally from Jammu region but had settled in Pakistan and PoK.