ISI floods Punjab with arms to fuel extortion, fund Khalistan revival

Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Jan 31 (IANS) Punjab is witnessing a new pattern whereby arms and ammunition have been coming into the state in large numbers. The ISI has been focusing heavily on Punjab in recent months and has enhanced operations. 

In the most recent cases, the agencies have observed that the arms that are being delivered are primarily to be used for extortion. This signals the involvement of the gangster network, which has been tasked with raising funds for the ISI. The funds are, in turn, meant to be used to nurture terror networks in both Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. These incidents are taking place at a time when the Khalistan network is making desperate attempts to revive the movement in Punjab.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that the ISI is looking to revive the movement in a big way. However, it is hitting a dead end when it comes to recruitment. The ISI is tapping the youth who are addicted to drugs and will try to lure them with money to join the movement, the official said. Hence, it has tasked the gangster network to raise funds by indulging in extortion.

Another official said that the extortion racket would spread beyond Punjab. On the target are rich individuals from Punjab, Haryana and Delhi. This extortion racket could run into crores of Rupees. All the money would be diverted into Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. The gangster network has also been told to identify youth and try to buy them out to join the Khalistan movement, officials say.

Looking at the seizures of arms by the Punjab Police, it appears as though the ISI is making a relentless push. Foreign-made weapons such as the Ak-47s, the Beretta and Glocks are being smuggled into Punjab in large numbers. While most of the consignments contain arms and ammunition, there are a few which have narcotics as well. The fact that the emphasis is more on arms and ammunition when compared to drugs signals that the ISI wants the gangster network to focus more on extortion.

On the intervening night of January 27 and 28, the ISI attempted to push in a huge consignment of arms and ammunition from the Indo-Pakistan border in Fazlika. However, this was intercepted by the security agencies following inputs by the Counterintelligence Wing of the Punjab Police. The ISI has been using drones in a big way to make this push.

Further, they are also using the riverine routes to smuggle in arms and ammunition. In addition to Fazlika, the ISI has been using drones to drop in arms at Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Pathankot. Intelligence Bureau officials say that the ISI is desperate to revive terrorism in Punjab. It is also looking to set up local modules in Jammu and Kashmir, and hence it wants to raise funds by sending in huge consignments of arms and ammunition.

These elements, in addition to running extortion rackets, will also target the illegal arms market, where there is a huge demand for the Glocks and Berettas. An Intelligence Bureau official said that with radicalisation and recruitment for the Khalistan movement clearly failing in Punjab, the ISI wants to target the youth by buying them out. The gangster network is in the process of identifying vulnerable youth and those addicted to drugs. They would be lured with huge sums of money and then trapped into joining the movement. There is already a soft push on in Punjab to revive the Khalistan issue.

Recently, a Khalistan flag was found at the Golden Temple. The Intelligence agencies learnt that this was a soft attempt, and more such incidents would take place. These elements are just testing the waters, and by indulging in more such acts, they seek to change the narrative in their favour, officials say.

--IANS

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