Srinagar: The authorities in Jammu and Kashmir have claimed that the intelligence agencies and Jammu police averted a major plot hatched by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen’s leadership based in PoK to revive militancy in the Jammu region.
They said that four persons who acted as spies for the ISI and subsequently turned militants and were part of the plot were arrested in raids conducted by the police in the region’s Udhampur, Doda and Kathua districts during past few days.
The accused have been booked under Enemy Agents’ Ordinance and various provisions of J&K’s Ranbir Penal Code.
The officials claimed that all the six persons were in direct contact with ISI’s colonel rank officer Iftikhar Ahmad and Hizb’s PoK-based commanders and were given the task of reviving and stepping up militant activities in Jammu region especially Doda, Udhampur and Kathua.
As per the plan, the accused and other recruits were to be imparted arms training in the forest areas of Doda, Kishtwar and Kathua districts, the official said. The accused have been identified as Saddam Hussain Bhat, Muhammad Saleem and Abdul Kareem, residents of Kathua, and Safdar Ali of Udhampur.
The officials said that they were arrested on the basis of clues provided by two persons Mushtaq Ahmed Malik and Nadeem Akhter, residents of Doda and Kathua, respectively who were allegedly working as spies for Pakistan for quite some time. They were taken into custody by the police outside Ratnuchak Military Station in Jammu about ten days ago.
The officials said that ISI officer Col Iftikhiar was along with the Hizb’s commander who originally belonged to Jammu region but crossed over to PoK some years ago handling all the six persons from across the border.
