'Bihar gateway, J&K target': JeM infiltration signals ISI's new tactic

New Delhi, Aug 25 (IANS) The entry of three Jaish-e-Muhammad terrorists into Bihar via the Nepal route has put the entire state on very high alert. The suspected Jaish-e-Muhammad members have been identified as Hasnain Ali from Rawalpindi, Adil Hussain from Imerkot and Mohammad Usman from Bahawalpur in Pakistan.

While the motive is unclear, the security agencies had suspected that they may have been sent in to disrupt the elections that are to be held in Bihar by November 2025. However, since that is a long way to go, officials feel that they may be trying to sneak into Jammu and Kashmir since infiltrations through the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB) have become extremely tough.

The development comes in the wake of the agencies recently flagging that the ISI will use the Nepal route to carry out illegal acts such as infiltration, terror and counterfeit currency smuggling.

The count of terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir has gone down. Moreover, after Operation Sindoor, the morale of the local terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, too, is down. The ISI has been plotting to re-activate its Over Ground Worker network in J&K, and for this, it would need some of its terrorists from Pakistan to coordinate on the ground. This latest infiltration into Bihar could be linked to that.

By infiltrating terrorists into Bihar and then sneaking them into Jammu and Kashmir by road, the ISI would be able to achieve its objective. In the past, the ISI had tried the same through the Punjab route. Initially, drones were used to send in arms and ammunition and drugs.

The arms were meant to be smuggled into J&K, and the proceeds from the sales of the drugs were to fund terror activities.

While the Pakistanis managed to achieve some success with the help of drones, they were finding it hard to send in terrorists. The security along the Punjab border is much tighter when compared to that along the Bihar border.

Following the infiltration, security has been heightened along the Indo-Nepal border and Seemanchal districts. While security agencies have been instructed to increase surveillance and collect Intelligence, District Intelligence Units have been told to take required measures to curb any suspicious activity.

Patrolling too has been increased in the border areas, including Sitamarhi, Supaul, Araria, Madhubani, East and West Champaran districts.

The infiltration route through Bihar is a preferred one since there is a history of several outfits making the state a haven. The Indian Mujahideen had used the Bihar-Nepal route extensively to reach Pakistan. Yasin Bhatkal of the Indian Mujahideen, too, had been arrested on the India-Nepal border while trying to flee from Bihar.

Be it members of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) or the Indian Mujahideen (IM), all of them would take shelter in Bihar after every blast. It was the Indian Mujahideen which had set up the infamous Darbhanga module. Yasin and his associates would take shelter there after carrying out a blast.

Until recently, before the Popular Front of India (PFI) was banned, it had been found that they too had been scouting for people from Bihar. The PFI had been recruiting youth from East Champaran and Muzaffarpur districts.

While all these outfits do not exist today, some members who never came under the radar of the agencies may be on the ISI’s pay list. These elements could be helping the ISI manage the infiltration and also ensure that terrorists from Pakistan manage to enter Bihar safely and then be transported to Jammu and Kashmir.

--IANS

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