Nationwide sweep busts ISI-backed terror network, Shah announces
In a sweeping nationwide crackdown ahead of India’s 79th Independence Day, security agencies dismantled the ISI-backed Shahzad Bhatti network, arresting more than 200 operatives across 14 States and foiling planned attacks, Union Minister for Home Affairs, Amit Shah, said Monday.
“Indian security forces ripped apart the network by launching coordinated operations across different locations in 14 states, upholding a brilliant example of India’s zero-tolerance towards terrorism. Substantial recoveries, including IEDs, grenades bearing Pakistan Ordnance Factory markings, pistols, live cartridges, and CCTV cameras used for espionage, were made from the ISI-funded group,” Shah posted on X.
The coordinated operations, described by officials as one of the most extensive counter-terror efforts in recent years, targeted a sprawling Pakistan-sponsored syndicate that blended organised crime, narco-trafficking, radicalisation via social media, and direct terrorist plotting. Intelligence inputs indicated the network was preparing grenade attacks, targeted killings of police personnel, reconnaissance of security installations, and propaganda campaigns under the banner of the shadowy Tehreek-e-Taliban Hindustan (TTH) in the run-up to August 15 celebrations. I
Bhatti, a Pakistan-based gangster-turned-terror handler believed to be operating from safe havens across the border and in the Gulf, has emerged over the past year as a key ISI proxy.
Indian agencies have linked him to a hybrid model of warfare: recruiting vulnerable Indian youth, often unemployed young men with no prior criminal records, through Instagram, WhatsApp, and encrypted channels, offering payments ranging from a few thousand rupees for graffiti and poster campaigns to lakhs for targeted hits.
Earlier probes by the Delhi Police Special Cell, National Investigation Agency (NIA), and State ATS units had already exposed modules in Delhi-NCR, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, and Maharashtra. The network was also tied to prior incidents, including grenade attacks on police stations and residences in Punjab and Haryana.
Sources in the security establishment said multi-agency teams, guided by real-time technical and human intelligence, struck simultaneously at sleeper cells and logistics nodes spanning northern, western, and eastern States. The timing-days before Independence Day-was deliberate. Officials believe the network intended to stage low-intensity but high-visibility attacks to create panic and undermine national celebrations. Recovered materials point to the cross-border supply chain. Digital forensics from seized phones revealed voice notes, chat logs, and instructions for reconnaissance of police stations, military camps, crowded public spaces, and even religious sites. Some operatives had been tasked with filming sensitive installations or pasting TTH propaganda to amplify fear.
Bhatti had boasted on social media of hundreds of associates. Indian agencies responded with sustained pressure-NIA raids in Punjab and Haryana, Rajasthan ATS statewide sweeps, and Delhi Special Cell “Gang Bust” operations-culminating in the August offensive that effectively neutralised the structure.
Investigators continue to map financial trails involving hawala and bank accounts used to launder proceeds from drugs and illegal arms.
“This is not merely an operational victory; it is a strategic message that India will not allow any space for ISI-sponsored terror modules on its soil,” one senior official said.
