New Delhi: Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has reportedly launched a massive drive to recruit retired army and navy personnel into terror outfits to bypass training delays and lead operations in Jammu and Kashmir, according to intelligence officials.
The tactical shift follows acute recruitment shortages faced by terror groups, including the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), and Hizbul Mujahideen after Operation Sindoor.
It is well known that following Operation Sindoor in May last year, terror outfits such as the Lashkar, Jaish and Hizbul Mujahideen have faced difficulties in recruiting new cadres.
Although recruitment has picked up pace, the challenge remains that these recruits require extensive training before they can be considered ready to carry out terror operations against India.
An official said that in order to overcome this gap and to make these groups operation-ready faster, the ISI has been looking for retired Pakistani army personnel.
While Pakistan has extensively used its former army personnel in the past, this time it is looking to recruit a much bigger number into the terror groups.
“Former soldiers and commandos are the preferred choice. They are operation-ready and would require a bare minimum amount of training before they can be sent out to carry out terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir,” the official said.
Another official said that the ISI used former army and navy personnel to be part of terror operations. The focus had, however, been on them imparting training when it comes to terror operations, fidayeen attacks, and also logistics.
The 26/11 Mumbai attacks also highlighted the extensive role allegedly played by Pakistan’s military establishment. Individuals such as Major Iqbal were reported to have been involved in the training of the attackers. They were also said to have been present alongside the handlers in Karachi, providing instructions to the 10 terrorists who entered Mumbai on the night of November 26, 2008.
The official added that the ISI, with the assistance of Pakistan’s army, has been preparing a list of personnel who have retired or have resigned from the Pakistan army.
“They are being offered huge incentives to be part of the terror groups that have focused their operations largely on Jammu and Kashmir,” the official said.
An Intelligence Bureau official said Pakistan was not planning a major attack in the immediate future. However, the country wants its terror groups to remain fully operational and prepared to carry out attacks when required.
Once these retired personnel are picked, they would be sent to the launchpads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
“Currently at the launchpads, the terrorists are divided into batches of three. There is one terrorist each from the Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen in each batch,” the official said.
The ISI, according to the official, intends to include a retired and fully operationally ready soldier in each of these groups. Such personnel could lead the attacks more effectively because of their experience. Having served in the field for several years, they are also familiar with the terrain and other logistical aspects involved in such operations.
“Further, a retired soldier will command more respect in the respective batch he is posted in. Those operatives under him will derive a lot from his experience on the battlefield,” the official said.
The focus is more on the Lashkar at the moment, and such personnel are being recruited into this group.
“Compared with the Jaish and Hizbul Mujahideen, the Lashkar appears to be better prepared to carry out an operation in Jammu and Kashmir. The outfit has, for now, resolved its leadership issues, with Hafiz Saeed’s son, Talha Saeed, taking complete control,” officials said.
By recruiting former army personnel, the ISI can bypass one crucial stage, namely radicalisation, officials said.
Such individuals, they added, may already have undergone extensive ideological conditioning during their training and service, making them more readily deployable for violent operations. The strategy is also seen as part of Pakistan’s long-standing reliance on the “bleeding by a thousand cuts” doctrine against India.
With very basic training required and radicalisation not needed, it makes perfect sense for the ISI to rope in retired army personnel to be part of these terror groups, another official said.
