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  India   Ex-servicemen new ISI ‘strategy’

Ex-servicemen new ISI ‘strategy’

| NAMRATA BIJI AHUJA
Published : Dec 31, 2015, 2:49 am IST
Updated : Dec 31, 2015, 2:49 am IST

Even as diplomatic relations with Pakistan are witnessing positive developments with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent Islamabad visit, Central intelligence agencies have warned that Pakistan’s IS

Even as diplomatic relations with Pakistan are witnessing positive developments with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent Islamabad visit, Central intelligence agencies have warned that Pakistan’s ISI’s latest strategy is to target Indian ex-servicemen to elicit classified information for anti-national activities. The ISI espionage racket is not just limited to the recent spy-ring involving the IAF personnel arrested from Punjab by the crime branch of the Delhi police, but is being spread far and wide by the ISI with the latest target being ex-servicemen who are being trapped by fake “welfare agencies” to elicit classified information on defence installations among others, warn intelligence reports.

Such fake “welfare organisations’’ are created at the ISI’s behest which are then trapping these ex-armymen in the garb of providing financial aid and job opportunities, sources said. Once the ex-servicemen join these fake welfare organisations, they are used to elicit secret and classified information like details of army installations, phone numbers of officers, and other secret information.

It is learnt that the Union home ministry has set the alarm bells ringing and the the ministry of defence has also been alerted about the alleged spy-ring being run by Pakistan’s ISI.

Intelligence reports say that the recent instance where a fake organisation of ex-servicemen was formed in north India, promising job opportunities and financial assistance to former soldiers, is part of ISI’s latest strategy.

Official sources said the organisation initially helped a few ex-servicemen but gradually showed interest in getting information about various defence installations and some of the former soldiers were even asked to get in touch with their serving colleagues and try to gather information about field formation, which raised the bar of suspicion among the ex-servicemen.

The home ministry has asked the defence ministry to probe the matter and take suitable action, sources said.

Location: India, Delhi, New Delhi