Killing of death row convict Sarabjit Singh could have been a well-planned conspiracy of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and its front lashkar-e-Tayyeba as the terror group has justified the murder of the Indian prisoner in a jail there and released a poster on Friday saying Pakistan has for the first time done a thing in the line with the purpose for which the Islamic state was created.
Sources in the know said Sarabjit’s body bore bedsores, raising suspicion about his death even before he was admitted to an intensive care unit of the Jinnah Hospital in Pakistan. As per normal practice, a patient is given sponge bath several times in an ICU so as to avoid any infection including bedsores. The sources did not rule out his death in the jail itself and shifting his body to the hospital could just be an eyewash.
Rejoicing over the “extra-judicial killing” of Sarabjit, as proclaimed by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the leT in its poster said while the killing of one Sarabjit has created a nationwide uproar in India, the terror group has plans to create 20 Pakistans in the Indian subcontinent by carrying out terror attacks across the country.
The poster depicts a truncated version of the Indian map and highlights the cities that would be targeted by the terror outfit. The cities planned to be targeted include Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Bhopal, lucknow, Kolkata, Guwahati, Shillong and Jammu.
A senior intelligence official said the leT has its own sleeper cells in these cities besides a strong cadre of affiliated terror groups like the banned Students’ Islamic Movement of India and Indian Mujahideen come in handy for carrying out terrorist strikes. Attacks in any of these cities provoke communal polarisation and a fertile ground for subversive activities.
The sources said ISI has of late increased funding to the leT for ramping up subversive activities in India. The leT on its part has been funding certain minority organisations in India to mobilise the community for anti-state activities.
The leT has called a conference on May 18 at Muridke titled Aqeeda-e-Tauheed to discuss future terror strategy. The sources said the agenda of the meet is yet to be finalised but the notorious leT may call for greater synergy between various subversive groups active in Jammu & Kashmir and the North-East to carry out attacks in the hinterland.
According to inputs with the Union Home Ministry, as many as 42 terror training camps ((25 in PoK and 17 in Pakistan) are still functioning across the border in Pakistan with about 2,500 trained terrorists on their rolls. This besides, the Union Home Ministry has estimated that around 350 hardcore terrorists belonging to leT, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen are active in Jammu and Kashmir along with the over ground workers of these groups.
The reports also point to the linkages between the insurgents of the North-East and terror groups active in Jammu & Kashmir and even the Maoists.