Faridabad crackdown: ISI-Jaish were planning homegrown pan-India module

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Security agencies investigating the recent terror cases linked to the ‘Faridabad module’ have traced its beginnings to a larger plan designed by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) nearly four years ago.

According to the officials, the aim was to create a discreet, India-based terror network that could carry out attacks on the orders of Pakistani handlers while giving Pakistan plausible deniability before the international community.

The plan was inspired by Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGuH), an al-Qaida-linked group that became almost inactive after the killing of its leader Zakir Musa in 2019, TOI reported.

A plan to build homegrown network

After AGuH collapsed, ISI allegedly turned to JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar. According to the report, Azhar was asked to help create a similar outfit by using radicalised young men, not only from Kashmir, where local terror recruitment has dropped sharply, but also from other states in India.

The strategy involved placing Kashmiris in leadership roles. These leaders were expected to use encrypted messaging apps such as Telegram to identify, groom, and recruit followers across India. This new network was intended to remain deeply embedded and difficult to detect.

How the network expanded across states

The first key link in this chain was Pakistan-based handler Umar bin Khattab, also known as Hanjullah. He was in touch with a cleric from Shopian, Maulvi Irfan Waghay, who had influenced several youths in the past. Irfan agreed to help create a pan-India outfit and brought in his acquaintance, Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie.

Dr Muzammil then became a central figure in expanding the network. Officials say he used his position at Al-Falah University in Faridabad to recruit more people. Among those he contacted were Dr Adeel and his brother Muzaffar. While Adeel joined the Jaish-linked plan, Muzaffar reportedly shifted allegiance to al-Qaida and is believed to be in Afghanistan.

Muzammil also recruited Dr Shaheen Shahid and her brother, Dr Parvez Ansari. Together, this group formed the early core of the module.

An officer said the group regularly exchanged messages with three Pakistani handlers, identified as Faisal, Hashim, and Ukasha, who supplied them with radical content, instructions, and bomb-making videos through encrypted apps.

Funding and building capabilities

As per the officials, the network was encouraged to raise funds by contributing from their own salaries or collecting religious donations such as zakat. Jaish provided additional support through hawala channels.

Over the past two years, after gaining organisational strength, operatives began sourcing explosives and bomb components. Around 2,900 kg of IED-making material was amassed by Dr Muzammil, Dr Adeel, and Dr Umar Un Nabi, and stored with the help of Mewat cleric Hafiz Mohd Ishtiak.

How the plot nearly escalated

Investigators suspect that Dr Umar may have assembled an explosive device in haste, using video instructions sent by Pakistani handlers. The car bomb was crudely built, which may have prevented a larger disaster.

Officials say Jaish had already identified multiple targets across India, and the group was preparing for coordinated attacks.

"It is possible that Dr Umer hurriedly assembled the car bomb using the instructional videos sent by Pakistan-based handlers. The device was crudely made, which limited its impact. But Jaish had already identified targets for pan-India attacks - the crackdown on the Faridabad module stopped them just in time," TOI quoted an officer as saying.