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News18
23-05-2025
- Politics
- News18
How Pakistan High Commission In New Delhi Is A ‘Sleeper Cell' Of ISI
Last Updated: "Pakistan High Commission officials use their diplomatic immunity to recruit agents and facilitate espionage,' say top intelligence sources The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi is acting as a covert hub or sleeper cell of Islamabad's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), according to top intelligence sources. 'Mass scale embassy recruitment is possibly to map targets for fidayeen attacks in the future. The idea is to know the entry points, exits, gate strength and guarding pattern," said sources. According to sources, many, like Jyoti Malhotra, used to make videos from sensitive locations showing the overall guarding pattern. 'The ISI focuses on regions like Uttar Pradesh to identify individuals disillusioned by socio-economic disparities or perceived injustices. ISI officials in Pakistan have asked local staffers to recruit every group capable of raising voice against India. Pakistan High Commission officials use their diplomatic immunity to recruit agents and facilitate espionage," said sources. ISI officials are always working as visa officials in the embassy and working under diplomatic cover as First Secretary or Minister. ISI staffers sometimes project themselves as husband and wife initially to make a person comfortable. CASES IN POINT: WHAT SOURCES SAY For instance, embassy staffers Ehsan-ur-Rahim (Danish) and Muzammil were implicated to cultivate Indian YouTubers and influencers. Their idea was to gather intelligence or spread pro-Pakistan narratives. Mohammad Tarif from Mewat was lured with a visa in exchange for providing SIM cards and later tasked with photographing military installations. Asif Baloch, a former staffer at the Pakistan High Commission, recruited agents like Mohammad Tarif and facilitated their travel to Pakistan for training. THE TARGETS: WHAT SOURCES SAY Visa applicants, especially from sensitive regions of Jammu and Kashmir or military families, were targeted. Vulnerable individuals are attracted through offers of expedited visas, financial incentives, or blackmail. Embassy staff allegedly maintain direct communication with ISI handlers in Pakistan. Individuals in UP's Shamli and Rampur districts like Nauman Ilahi, a security guard, and Shehzad Wahab, a smuggler, were recruited. Nauman Ilahi from Shamli was paid Rs 4,000-5,000 per assignment to share train station maps. Shehzad Wahab from Rampur smuggled goods and shared intel on border security vulnerabilities. They were recruited by exploiting financial hardships and ideological grievances like atrocities on minorities Recruits like Ansarul Miya Ansari, a Nepali-origin taxi driver, was radicalised using issues like the Babri Masjid demolition and anti-CAA/NRC sentiments during training in Pakistan. The ISI recruits social media influencers like Jyoti Malhotra, a travel vlogger, to spread propaganda and gather intelligence. Malhotra was groomed by embassy staffer Danish and introduced to Pakistani intelligence officials during her visits to Pakistan. To avoid detection, recruits are often connected to ISI handlers via intermediaries in third countries like Dubai or Nepal. Nazir Ahmad Bhat, an ISI recruiter in Jammu, arranged meetings in neutral territories to brief agents. Recruits are provided fake Pakistani passports to travel via third countries like Dubai or Sri Lanka. Their Indian passports remain unmarked to evade suspicion. Ansarul Ansari traveled to Pakistan via Nepal using a fake identity after receiving espionage training in Rawalpindi. Once recruited, individuals undergo training in espionage techniques. Ansarul Ansari received training in Pakistan on gathering military documents and coordinates. Devendra Singh Dhillon, a student from Haryana, was trained via the Kartarpur Corridor and tasked with photographing military cantonments. Recruits are assigned tasks collecting GPS coordinates of military installations and photographing sensitive sites such as airbases, cantonments, especially gates for any fidayeen attacks. tags : india Pakistan news18 specials Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: May 23, 2025, 13:24 IST News india How Pakistan High Commission In New Delhi Is A 'Sleeper Cell' Of ISI | Exclusive
Hindustan Times
22-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
Delhi Police arrest 2 ISI agents, busts sleeper cell network in secret operation
The Delhi Police busted a network of ISI sleeper cells in a secret operation following the arrest of two agents of the Islamic State. The operation was carried out by the police and its agencies from January to March 2025. According to news agency ANI, the Delhi Police arrested two agents, including a Nepali-origin ISI agent identified as Ansarul Mian Ansari. They recovered several classified documents related to the armed forces from his possession. A chargesheet in this regard was filed in May, following which both the arrested ISI agents are now lodged in the national capital's Tihar Jail. Ansari, who was reportedly arrested from a hotel in Delhi, revealed that he was a cab driver in Qatar, and that's where he met an ISI handler.
India Today
22-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Nepali spy, sleeper cells: Pak ISI's big terror plot before Pahalgam attack
Intelligence agencies unearthed a plot orchestrated by Pakistan's spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to carry out a major terrorist strike in the country, one that was in the works before the Pahalgam killings, top sources breakthrough came with the arrest of a Nepali-origin ISI agent, Ansarul Mian Ansari, from a hotel in Delhi. According to intelligence sources, Ansari had entered India from Pakistan via Nepal at the behest of the ISI. He was reportedly preparing to return to Pakistan when he was arrest was the result of a highly classified joint operation led by central agencies and the Delhi Police Special Cell, conducted between January and March 2025. Sources said that during interrogation, Ansari disclosed critical information about ISI's extensive espionage network and revealed that he had been tasked with procuring and sending classified military documents to Pakistan. A forensic analysis of the documents recovered from Ansari confirmed they were sensitive materials related to the Indian Armed Forces, officials said. The agencies also seized incriminating digital added that Ansari met an ISI handler while working as a cab driver in Qatar. He was later taken to Pakistan, where he was reportedly brainwashed and trained by senior ISI operatives before being deployed to Ansari's confession, another suspect, Akhlaq Azam, was arrested from Ranchi. Azam is accused of assisting Ansari in transmitting sensitive information to Pakistan-based ISI officials. Sources said Azam played a key role in collecting and passing on Army to sources, the dismantling of the ISI cell in Delhi likely averted a devastating attack on Indian the horrific Pahalgam attack, in which 26 civilians were gunned down by terrorists, security agencies have intensified their counter-terrorism efforts, targeting not only operatives in Jammu and Kashmir but also sleeper cells embedded in cities across recent weeks, several such modules have been busted and sleeper agents and spies arrested as part of a 'pan-India sweep' aimed at neutralising Pakistan-backed terror threats.
