Arrested Al-Qaeda terrorists shared crucial information with Pak, ISI during Operation Sindoor; received orders

Gujarat ATS DIG Sunil Joshi said all four suspects were under surveillance for activities suspected to be connected to AQIS, a proscribed terror outfit affiliated with Al-Qaeda

The four people arrested by the Gujarat Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) on Wednesday for their links to terror group Al-Qaeda, were reportedly in regular contact with the Pakistan Army and its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) during Operation Sindoor in May. They also shared crucial information during the said period, sources told NDTV.

The report further revealed that the accused targeted and radicalised youngsters against Operation Sindoor, which was launched by India in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives. Moreover, they attempted to create an environment in favour of Operation Bunyan un Marsoos, Islamabad's codename for its military operation.

The arrested accused have been identified as Mohd Faiq from Delhi, Mohd Fardeen Shaikh from Ahmedabad, Saifullah Qureshi from Modasa in Aravalli, and Zeeshan Ali from Noida, Uttar Pradesh. They have been booked under relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Gujarat ATS DIG Sunil Joshi said all four suspects were under surveillance for activities suspected to be connected to AQIS, a proscribed terror outfit affiliated with Al-Qaeda. He said that several materials related to the terror outfit were seized and the accused used to propagate their terrorist ideologies.

Some of them were reportedly in contact with Pakistani Instagram accounts.

According to sources cited by NDTV, the four men continuously shared information pertaining to Operation Sindoor with two Pakistani social media accounts. Moreover, they also received orders from these accounts.

Joshi said that during the operation, the accused spread anti-Indian government and pro-Pakistani narrative. “They were disseminating a lot of content of Al-Qaeda across India… A sword and Al-Qaeda material were seized from Fardeen. They formed different groups on Instagram and promoted terrorist ideologies. Mohd Faiq was in contact with a few Pakistani Instagram accounts which provided him material for jihadi activities,” he was quoted as saying by ANI.

“We have recovered documents on Operation Sindoor from Fardeen. Also, the posts they made at that time on Operation Sindoor were anti-Indian government, pro-Pakistani and instigating material on religious basis,” he stated.