New Delhi: Investigations into the Delhi Red Fort blast, which claimed 12 lives and injured dozens, indicate that the ISI deliberately avoided operating from Pakistan, instead using other countries to plan and execute the attack. Agencies are now tracing the international network behind the Red Fort explosion as the terror probe deepens.
During the probe, links to Afghanistan and Turkey have cropped up, suggesting very little of Pakistan was used to both set up the Faridabad module and execute the blast.
Intelligence Bureau officials say that this ploy was intentional, as Pakistan did not want the trail leading up to it.
This is primarily to do with India’s response to the Pahalgam terror attack. India had responded with ‘Operation Sindoor’ and even said that from now onwards, all terrorist attacks would be treated as an act of war.
Further, Pakistan is also under scrutiny by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Given its current financial situation, it cannot afford to be on the Grey or Black List of the FATF.
The ISI first picked Maulvi Irfan Ahmed, a resident of Jammu and Kashmir, to oversee the setting up of the module. He was then tasked with setting up the module and recruiting persons from within India. This led to the setting up of the module at Faridabad.
The ISI was also careful while choosing Ahmed’s handlers. A cell of the Jaish-e-Mohammad, which was set up in 2021 in Afghanistan, was activated, and handlers were chosen.
Ahmed and some of the other accused in the blast were in constant touch with handlers who were based in Afghanistan. The ISI sought to eliminate any trace to Pakistan by involving modules from Afghanistan.
The probe has also revealed a Turkey link to the module as well as the accused.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police has now sought a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against one Dr Muzaffar Rather. Believed to be in Afghanistan now, Rather, along with the other accused, Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie and Dr Umar Nabi, had visited Turkey in 2021. They stayed there for 20 days and are believed to have been in touch with some ISI assets in that country.
This is an angle which is under the probe, and there is a strong possibility that the ISI had tasked them to meet with their assets in Turkey and seek their help in setting up the module.
While the Turkey link to the attack is being probed, the country’s Directorate of Communications Centre for Countering Disinformation said that its soil is not being used for radicalisation activities linked to such operatives.
However, Pakistan using other countries to direct attacks against India is not new. It has used Afghanistan in the past several times to carry out attacks against India. The current flavour is Bangladesh, where the ISI is actively training terror groups to carry out strikes in West Bengal and the northeastern state.
Officials say that it comes as no surprise that Pakistan has used other countries to carry out attacks in India.
The Faridabad module belonging to the Jaish-e-Mohammad was one of the biggest operations that the ISI has carried out in recent times. This module was not meant to carry out a one off blast, but is part of a larger strategy of Pakistan.
Intelligence Bureau officials say that the ISI had been planning to set up more such modules comprising white-collar terrorists in many parts of the country. Some intercepts clearly suggest that the ISI has been using its assets in other countries to help further this goal.
The ISI and its terrorists based out of Pakistan do not converse directly with the Indian operatives. They have been instructing their handlers in Afghanistan and other countries to be in touch with the Indian operatives. This is to ensure that when the probe is on, no direct communication from Pakistan is found, officials point out.
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Caption: New Delhi: Father of Pankaj, who died in the Red Fort blast, pays tribute to him during a tribute ceremony at Sarojini Nagar Market, in New Delhi, Thursday, November 13, 2025. (IANS/Qamar Sibtain)
Vicky Nanjappa—IANS
