ISI pushing addicts as terror couriers in Indian jails: Officials

Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI has reportedly resorted to infiltrating individuals under the influence of drugs or posing as mentally disturbed into India to utilise them to deliver critical messages to hardcore terrorists incarcerated in the country’s prisons.

Officials concerned said that more than 10 such cases had been reported since July in which Pakistani nationals had entered India from their country and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Many of them have been sent to prisons in Jammu, Punjab and Rajasthan.

The officials said security agencies suspect these individuals are Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) couriers tasked with relaying important communication to the jailed terrorists wherever possible.

Interrogation of these individuals typically shows that they have been trained in resistance techniques to withstand questioning by security personnel.

The behaviour displayed by those apprehended has raised suspicions among officials, who suggest that their superficial details and evasive responses indicate a potentially larger agenda behind their infiltration, possibly stemming from the fear of repercussions from their handlers.

They explained that the use of mobile phones and the internet leaves behind electronic footprints that could expose the plans of both state and non-state actors operating across the border. As a result, the ISI has adopted this new modus operandi.

The infiltration strategy reportedly includes women and minors, who may also serve as couriers. In a notable incident in July, a minor from Pakistan’s Attock was intercepted in Punjab.