States warned of ‘aggressive’ infiltration by terrorists along Afghan border

         

The Union Government has warned of  possible infiltration  by battle-hardened militants into India  along the Afghanistan border taking  advantage of the  weak and porous  security  systems there.

Highly  placed  official  sources  told The Hindu in Chennai on September  5  that a Central agency, in an alert  sent to all States and Central Armed Paramilitary Forces, has  cautioned that armed terrorists owing allegiance to ISIS-K, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed  could  attempt to aggressively infiltrate into India,  particularly Jammu & Kashmir.

Pointing to  various  instances of  security  concerns in Afghanistan,  including the explosions  at the Kabul airport,  that could have a  bearing on  the security  scenario in India, the alert  said  developments  in the neighbouring  country  were  seen as a victory to puritanical Islam. This  could embolden and  reinforce the ideologies of leaders of  various banned  outfits in India who  might  provoke their cadres to derail public order, the  sources  said.

While India  was  not  affected by the  activities of Foreign Terrorist Fighters, the  situation in Afghanistan  under the Taliban regime  might pave the  way for convergence of radical sentiments  and bring  together armed  fighters from  other  areas to pursue  common goals. Security  system had  become  extremely porous after the U.S.  armed forces  fully withdrew from the war-torn  country, the  sources  said.

Drug smuggling

Besides the congregation of  trained militants who  were  equipped with improvised explosive  devices  and sophisticated weaponry,  the release of prisoners lodged in jails,  including  several  foreign nationals,  was  also a  matter of  concern  since  it would revive organised crimes with trans- national  network like smuggling of drugs, counterfeit Indian currency,  weapons etc., the  sources  said.

States  were  told to  brief  security  personnel guarding VVIPs  about the escalation in  threat perceptions. While cybercrime police  were  asked  to intensify vigil on social medial  platforms and curtail the  spread of communally  sensitive content, emphasis  was laid on strengthening of surveillance in  areas of public  gathering  since the  possibility of the infiltration of suicide bombers  could not be  ruled out.

Vital installations

CAPFs  protecting  vital installations  across the  country  would coordinate with the State  administration in  enhancing  the security  arrangements  based  on the perceived  threat level. Security  along the  international land border and coastal districts  would  also be  strengthened with  adequate check-points, combing operations in  vulnerable  areas and intensified patrolling, the  sources  said.

States with Israeli  establishments and Jewish settlements  were  also alerted to  deploy  additional manpower in view of a  potential  threat of terror  attack  during the  forthcoming Jewish  holidays  in the  third week of September. Security  personnel  were  advised to  conduct anti-sabotage  checks in and  around Israeli embassy/Consulate and  also  enforce strict access- control measures to the  foreign missions, the  sources  said.

Terror funding

According to police  sources,  there was intelligence  input on Afghanistan-Pakistan  based IS operatives coordinating with their  associates in India to  carry out  a terror  attack. The  input  also  said that the Foreign Terrorist Fighters  offered to fund terror  activities in India and  arrange  supply of  sophisticated  weapons, explosives etc.

Though the  input did  not  point to any  specific target, police have scaled up  security  detail for  important  places of worship, leaders of  some Hindu  organisations and  other  sensitive  establishments  based on  previous intelligence assessments, the  sources added.