Recently, you are witnessing that terrorism in Kashmir is increasing day by day. ISI is not refraining from its activities. The entire region of South Kashmir, from Rajouri to Jammu Poonch, is currently experiencing a significant increase in terrorism in the Pir Panjal range. This situation is not just of today. To understand how terrorism is being carried out here and what ISI’s objective in this entire game plan is, we need to first understand what happened in 2019 when India abrogated Article 370 from its constitution. Since the removal of Article 370, the Indian government has aggressively isolated Pakistan on an international level. The most important component of this plan was to isolate Pakistan at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a Paris-based body. We provided evidence to the FATF repeatedly, showing that Pakistan, through state-sponsored terrorism, using money from hawala and funding from the ISI and army, promoting terrorism in India through illegal drug trade.

Post the abrogation of Article 370, Pakistan realized that it would be difficult for them to use organizations like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed as they used to. As the FATF took action based on our complaints, Pakistan understood that it needed to give these organizations a new face. So, in 2020-21, Pakistan started a new campaign. The joint reports of India’s intelligence agencies, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), and Intelligence Bureau (IB) clearly indicate that in 2020-21, Pakistan initiated a new program named Operation K2, essentially a combined joint operation of ISI known as Operation Khalistan Kashmir. To understand ISI’s objectives in Operation K2, we see that they want to not limit themselves to operations in Kashmir but also create disturbances in Punjab. They are promoting terrorism in Punjab under Khalistan sentiment, through online radicalization, and using an organization called Lashkar-e-Khalsa, which is directly handled by ISI and has a module based in Dubai, led by an ISI officer named Baba Omar.

The part of Operation K2 related to Khalistan is being run with the help of Turkish intelligence agency MIT. Turkey wants to exploit a religious fault line in India and instead of getting directly involved in Kashmir, is disturbing India in Punjab in collaboration with ISI. Lashkar-e-Khalsa is promoting small gangs in Punjab, engaging in drug trade, illegal human trafficking, and, along with CIA, is working on the Christianization agenda of Punjab.

The recent developments in Punjab regarding the Khalistan element of Operation K2 will surprise you. In November 2023, Pakistan created an organization named Sikh-Muslim Federation, solely for online radicalization and recruitment based on Khalistan sentiment in Punjab. In the same month, Pakistan established the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, ironically headed by a Muslim, Lieutenant General Javed, associated with ISI. This Sikh-Muslim Friendship Organization is being operated from Dubai, with funds being routed from Canada and America through Dubai to Punjab.

Now, coming to the Kashmir element of Operation K2, ISI’s game plan is quite simple and clear. Brigadier Rashid Naseer, since 2020-21, has been instructed that Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed will not be directly involved in operations in Kashmir. In response, Brigadier Rashid Naseer started forming new front organizations for these groups. For Lashkar-e-Taiba, a new front named ‘The Resistance Front’ was formed, and for Jaish-e-Mohammed, a front called ‘People Anti Fascist Front’ was established. These names are chosen deliberately to not sound Arabic or Islamic but rather secular.

Since 2020-21, ISI’s strategy in Kashmir has shifted. Firstly, Rashid Naseer aims to promote a hybrid militancy campaign in Indian Kashmir, causing trouble for the Indian government and security agencies. This is done by sending terrorists from The Resistance Front and People Anti Fascist Front across the Line of Control into the Pir Panjal range in South Kashmir. These ranges, with altitudes of 5000 to 7500 feet and dense vegetation, provide ideal conditions for terrorists to infiltrate into Indian Kashmir. Rashid Naseer’s second objective is to find shelter for these terrorists in the houses of Kashmiri civilians who have no prior police records.

The challenges we face include conducting surveys in the dense forests and high-altitude regions of the Pir Panjal range, where drones and helicopters are not effective. Furthermore, the hybrid militancy model makes it difficult to identify normal civilians from terrorists.

An important point to understand is that Pakistan is trying to revive the political front in Kashmir. Recently, former Chief Minister of Kashmir Farooq Abdullah made a statement in the news that if India doesn’t talk to Pakistan, Kashmir will become like Gaza. This rhetoric is a diversion tactic. The real issue is Pakistan’s illegal occupation of parts of Kashmir since 1947.

Another challenge is that a significant number of Indian armed forces are deployed along the borders with China, from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh, due to ongoing tensions since the 2020 standoff. Pakistan is exploiting this situation by provoking China to prolong the conflict, thus diverting Indian troops from Kashmir.

In summary, the entire game plan of Operation K2, involving the elements of Khalistan and Kashmir, is clear. Pakistan is promoting terrorism using new fronts and tactics while trying to revive political fronts and using diversion tactics to further its agenda.”