Red Fort blast: ISI ran operation from Afghanistan and other nations to mask its direct role

New Delhi: Investigations into the Delhi Red Fort blast in which 12 people were killed and dozens injured, have revealed that the ISI had intentionally kept all operations out of Pakistan and used other nations to plan and execute the attack.

During the probe, links to Afghanistan and Turkey have cropped up suggesting very little of Pakistan was used to both set up the Faridabad module and execute the blast.

Intelligence Bureau officials say that this ploy was intentional as Pakistan did not want the trail leading up to it.

This is primarily to do with India’s response to the Pahalgam terror attack. India had responded with ‘Operation Sindoor’ and even said that from now onwards all terrorist attacks would be treated as an act of war.

Further, Pakistan is also under scrutiny by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Given its current financial situation, it cannot afford to be in the Grey or Black List of the FATF.

The ISI first picked Maulvi Irfan Ahmed, a resident of Jammu and Kashmir to oversee the setting up of the module. He then was tasked with setting up the module and recruit persons from within India. This led to the setting up of the module at Faridabad.

The ISI was also careful while choosing Ahmed’s handlers. A cell of the Jaish-e-Mohammad which was set up in 2021 at Afghanistan was activated and handlers were chosen.

Ahmed and some of the other accused in the blast were in constant touch with handlers who were based out of Afghanistan. The ISI sought to eliminate any trace to Pakistan by involving modules from Afghanistan.

The probe has also revealed a Turkey link to the module as well as the accused.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police has now sought a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against one Dr. Muzaffar Rather. Believed to be in Afghanistan now, Rather along with the other accused Dr. Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie and Dr. Umar Nabi had visited Turkey in 2021. They stayed there for 20 days and are believed to have been in touch with some ISI assets in that country.

This is an angle which is under probe and there is a strong possibility that the ISI had tasked them to meet with their assets in Turkey and seek their help in setting up the module.

While the Turkey link to the attack is being probed, the country’s Directorate of Communications Centre for Countering Disinformation said that its soil is not being used for radicalisation activities linked to such operatives.

However, Pakistan using other countries to direct attacks against India is not new. It has used Afghanistan in the past several times to carry out attacks against India. The current flavour is Bangladesh where the ISI is actively training terror groups to carry out strikes in West Bengal and the northeastern state.

Officials say that it comes as no surprise that Pakistan has used other countries to carry out attacks in India.

The Faridabad module belonging to the Jaish-e-Mohammad was one of the biggest operations that the ISI has carried out in recent times. This module was not meant to carry out a one off blast, but is part of a larger strategy of Pakistan.

Intelligence Bureau officials say that the ISI had been planning to set up more such modules comprising white collared terrorists in many parts of the country. There are intercepts that clearly suggest that the ISI has been using its assets in other countries to help further this goal.

The ISI and its terrorists based out of Pakistan do not converse directly with the India operatives. They have been instructing their handlers in Afghanistan and other countries to be in touch with the India operatives. This is to ensure that when the probe is on, no direct communication from Pakistan is found, officials point out.

IANS