NEW DELHI: Amid reports that the Pakistani Army and ISI are grooming second-generation leaders of terror outfits operating from its soil, intelligence agencies have alerted the government to Lashkar-e-Taiba’s systematic efforts to build a large covert maritime capability to carry out attacks against India.
According to an intelligence report, the LeT’s political front, Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML) has so far trained more scuba divers and professional swimmers than any other terror outfit in Asia, such training modules are executed across major Pakistan and PoJK cities under fake “water rescue banners”.
Intelligence agencies have noted that PMML Deputy Secretary General Harish Dar has been seen inspecting trainees and openly outlining specialised training programmes being conducted across Pakistan. These include scuba diving, professional swimming, high-speed boat handling and social media operations. Officials added that several large pools, rivers, canals, lakes and coastal zones in Pakistan are being used for the training.
The LeT, the terror group responsible for the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks that killed 166 people, continues to operate openly in Pakistan despite being banned by the United Nations. The group’s founder, Hafiz Saeed, lived freely in Lahore for years before being placed under house arrest following international pressure.
Meanwhile, the intelligence reports also suggested that a high-level meeting was recently held in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, involving officials from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Pakistani Army.
The meeting was also attended by senior commanders from terror groups, who are described as the next generation of leadership and the objective was to plan large-scale infiltration into Jammu and Kashmir and coordinate future terror attacks, the reports said.
Senior LeT operatives Talha Saeed and Saifullah Kasuri, along with Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) commander Abdur Rauf, were also present during the meeting at Bahawalpur and then they held a secret meeting with Masood Azhar, intelligence agencies said in the reports, while adding that similar meetings were held ahead of the Pahalgam attack, reinforcing suspicions of deepening coordination between the two terror outfits.
Security agencies suspect that the ISI is now shifting focus from ageing terror leaders such as Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar to their successors. The strategy involves promoting and funding second-generation terror operatives to ensure continuity of leadership and operations, they added.
These developments not only expose Pakistan’s continued support for terror outfits, but also reaffirm India’s longstanding allegations that Islamabad has been using them to spread terrorism and unrest in the country, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir.