Investigators believe the recent blast near India’s historic Red Fort was carried out using tradecraft typical of Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the Inter‑Services Intelligence (ISI), according to a CNN-News18 report citing interrogation details. The intelligence trail points to an external handler guiding a local terror module, marking a renewed wave of state-backed terrorism against India.
As per sources quoted by CNN-News18, the module used “classic ISI tradecraft” to organise the attack. According to an official, the local perpetrators had “no initiative of their own” and acted under remote direction. The report adds that the external handler used secure voice channels and cash drop techniques, hallmarks of the ISI’s covert operations.
According to CNN-News18, investigators have identified the key external handler as Ukasha or Abu Okasha, a Pakistan-based intermediary believed to be working for a state intelligence agency, possibly the ISI. The report states that Okasha functioned as the primary link between the local module in India and foreign operatives directing the terror plan.
Crucial evidence supporting this theory has come from the interrogation of the two arrested suspects -- Dr Muzafar Rather and Dr Muzammil Shakeel. Their travel and communication records show that they were in Istanbul in 2022, where they reportedly met Ukasha, who arranged their stay in Turkey. Investigators told CNN-News18 that Istanbul was used as a “third-country meeting point,” a common tactic used by Pakistani handlers to coordinate operations while maintaining plausible deniability.
The report also highlights that money transfers and encrypted communication channels passed through Gulf countries, a hallmark of the ISI’s covert coordination methods. “The use of Turkish and Gulf routes fits the standard tradecraft pattern seen in state-backed terror operations,” an officer familiar with the case told CNN-News18.
Further investigations revealed that Ukasha had shifted locations several times to avoid detection. Tasking intercepts and witness accounts showed that the handler was operating from Dubai before moving to Afghanistan shortly after the arrests in India. Officials believe this relocation was a pre-emptive move to escape international monitoring once the network began to unravel.
During his interrogation, Dr Muzammil told investigators that Okasha’s level of coordination and frequent movement strongly indicated that he was “nothing but an operative or agent of some agency possibly ISI.” This statement, accessed by CNN-News18, has further strengthened the suspicion that the attack was orchestrated under direct supervision from across the border.
The evidence collectively points to a sophisticated, externally guided operation, where trained local recruits were directed by handlers using advanced methods of funding, communication, and logistics. Security officials now describe the Red Fort explosion as part of a broader pattern of Pakistan’s continued use of proxy terror to destabilise India.
The blast on November 10 occurred when a car exploded near Delhi’s historic Red Fort, killing 13 people and injuring 20 others. The car was later traced to a Kashmir-based doctor with suspected links to militant groups.
According to CNN-News18, investigators are now working with multiple intelligence agencies to identify the full chain of command behind the attack and confirm whether the external handler, Ukasha, is still active in Afghanistan or has relocated again. The case has reinforced India’s long-standing accusation that Pakistan continues to export terrorism through trained operatives while using neighbouring regions as safe havens.
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