Pakistan-based terror network busted in Delhi: How a 3-month covert op exposed ISI sleeper cell

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In a major counter-intelligence breakthrough, security agencies have dismantled a Pakistan-backed espionage and terror network operating in the heart of the national capital, foiling a chilling plot to target Delhi and its surrounding regions.

The meticulously planned three-month covert operation, which ran from January to March 2025, culminated in the arrest of two key operatives: Ansarul Miya Ansari, a Nepali-origin agent trained by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and his Indian aide, Akhlaque Azam from Ranchi, reported ANI, quoting Delhi Police.

As per a Financial Express report, Ansari, who had been living as a taxi driver in Qatar since 2008, was first approached by ISI operatives with financial inducements before being radicalised and trained in espionage during a month-long visit to Pakistan in June 2024. There, he was introduced to senior Pakistani Army officials and indoctrinated with narratives centred on contentious issues like the Babri Masjid demolition and the implementation of CAA/NRC in India. His mission: to infiltrate India via Nepal, collect classified military documents, photographs and geolocation data and transmit this intelligence to his handlers in Pakistan.

The operation began with a faint intelligence tip-off in January, indicating that an ISI mole was en route to Delhi. By mid-February, Ansari had already gathered sensitive materials and was intercepted in central Delhi on 15 February as he attempted to exit the country through Nepal, according to a TOI report.

He was found in possession of confidential documents allegedly destined for his Pakistani handlers. Following his arrest, a deeper investigation led to the capture of Akhlaque Azam in Ranchi in March. Azam had provided crucial logistical support and maintained constant encrypted communication with handlers across the border.

The arrests came at a time of heightened security concerns following the Pahalgam terror attack and amid a broader nationwide crackdown on espionage, with at least 12 suspected spies detained across Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh in recent weeks.

The investigation has also cast suspicion on certain staff members of the Pakistani High Commission in Delhi. ISI officers Muzammil and Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, both allegedly linked to the High Commission, for their role in grooming Indian YouTubers and social media influencers as part of a wider disinformation and espionage campaign.

Both Ansari and Azam are currently lodged in the high-security wing of Tihar Jail under round-the-clock surveillance, with a chargesheet filed against them earlier this month. Authorities are maintaining heightened alert to prevent any further threats to national security and investigations continue to trace the remaining threads of this covert network.