New Delhi, Sep 3 (IANS) The Indian armed forces have tightened the noose around the ISI and its proxies, such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad. With infiltrations becoming harder, the ISI has activated several of its international modules in the Gulf nations and Canada to carry out activities that could sabotage India’s economy.

In Canada, the ISI has its stooges in the form of the Khalistani elements. While they do indulge in violent acts of terror, the ISI has another big role for them. A large part of the finances is controlled by these elements, and it is their job to route it to India.

Intelligence inputs indicate that these elements have been instructed to target big establishments and markets. On their radar are big markets, malls and shopping complexes.

The ISI has instructed these persons to activate their modules in India and also route the money to fund the operation. Further, they have asked to identify big marketplaces and set them on fire. This not only creates terror, but also causes huge financial losses.

The instruction is to target big markets in Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru. Further, the ISI wants to make these incidents seem like accidental fires so that it is not traced back to their network. This way, Pakistan can avoid pressure internationally.

In addition to setting marketplaces ablaze, the ISI also wants to sabotage railway operations in India. It has made attempts in the past to do the same and has been somewhat successful in some cases. The idea is not to cause a blast on a train. This again would trace the incident back to Pakistan.

The plan is to ensure that a fire goes off on a train or that it derails. Yet again, the idea is to make it seem like accidents and not a conventional act of terror. Such acts would not only create fear but also sabotage railway operations, thus causing a financial loss.

It has also been found that the ISI has been illegally routing rock salt, some spices and dry fruits into the Indian market via Dubai. The network has been using false documentation to send in these products. This also only circumvents the Indian trade restrictions, but also facilitates black money generation through under-invoicing.

Investigations found that goods originating from Pakistan are re-labelled in Dubai. This allows them to bypass trade restrictions and enter India without being detected.

To facilitate this, the ISI has hired some traders who only act as fronts. The ISI has also set up some UAE-based companies to function as conduits to send in Pakistani goods into India under the guise of UAE-origin products.

This modus operandi came to light when the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) recently seized a consignment of dry dates to the tune of Rs 9 crore. The trail led to Khairpur district in Pakistan’s Sindh province. The ISI had created an underground economy.

When these products came into India, the traders were drawn to them due to their low prices and higher margins. Since the setting up of this shadowy network, the ISI has managed to earn nearly Rs 500 crore. The agencies are now digging deeper into this modus operandi.

The ISI aimed to bypass the ban, use false documents and send in its products through an illegal channel. This helped the ISI earn crores, which it would use to fund anti-India activities.

–IANS

vicky/dan