‘Working for Islamic State’: Delhi Police operation brings spotlight back on ISI role

The anti-terror operation undertaken by Delhi Police’s Special Cell has led the cops to probe deeper into a sinister operation run by Pakistan’s ISI using Indian fugitives Farhatullah Ghori and his son-in-law, Shahid Faisal. The two men have been found to be radicalising and handling Indian Muslim youths in the name of the Islamic State.
Ghori alias Abu Sufiyan and Faisal absconded to Pakistan after the Akshardham terror attack of 2002 and live there under the aegis of that country’s spy agency. A deep infiltration on the Telegram accounts which the arrested suspects were in contact with shows that Ghori and Faisal masqueraded as the foreign handlers of the module and recruiters of Islamic State in Khorasan Province.
“It was in reality a Lashkar-e-Taiba module though the members thought they were working for Islamic State,” revealed a source.
The cops also found imprints of ISI in the use of pipes for bomb making taught to the module members. Using pipes for bombs was once the hallmark of members of SIMI, Kashmir-based groups and even the Indian Mujahideen.
Confirming the developments, special commissioner of police HGS Dhaliwal said that the Special Cell had continuously kept surveillance on the activities of the suspected operatives of ISIS and their contacts/sympathisers with special focus on Delhi-centric suspects.
“Credible inputs revealed that in order to carry out terror activities in India and simultaneously hide its role to circumvent scrutiny by international agencies, ISI created a facade of an India-focused ISIS,” said Dhaliwal.

The fact that the suspects were allegedly indulging in maal-e-ghanimat – collecting funds through crime – was another telltale sign of ISI’s involvement. “This was also a ploy to project the module as a home-grown, self-radicalised network,” additional commissioner Pramod Kushwaha added.
Ghori, a Hyderabad-based fugitive, is closely linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed and LeT. He came under the scanner of intelligence agencies of late for his active involvement in online radicalisation. According to sources, he operated several Telegram channels, Facebook pages and YouTube channels to attract youths to join the terror outfits.
In October 2020, the Union home ministry described him as a terrorist under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, and an Interpol red-corner notice was pending against his name. Ghori is accused in several terror cases in Gujarat and Hyderabad.
Two days ago, Ghori released a video statement with pictures of Indian Mujahideen terrorists, including the ones killed in the Batla House encounter. His videos show Ghori coaching youngsters on ways to become a terrorist. “Do not put your thoughts and information in social media,” Ghori can be heard saying. “Be careful when buying weapons from arms smugglers. Many of them work as double agents. They sell you weapons but at the same time they can be agents of government agencies. The jihadi brothers should maintain a distance from the terrorist brothers who are released from jail as the agencies keep them under scrutiny for a long time.”