ISI behind Sopore deaths, says IB

Intelligence agencies have warned the government that Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) is behind the mysterious deaths of civilians in Sopore town in north Kashmir. The Intelligence Bureau (IB), in a report it shared with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) last week, stated that the ISI was engaging in “targeted killings” in the Kashmir valley in an attempt to disrupt peace, apart from trying to discredit the Indian admin- istration and the Army.

In three weeks, six people have been gunned down by unknown assailants in Sopore, which is the hometown and the stronghold of hard line separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Those who were killed include two former militants, two activists owing their allegiance to Geelani and two men associated with the mobile business. “The successful holding of elections in Jammu and Kashmir has come as severe jolt to the ISI and its Indian affiliates. Increased vigilance at the International Border and the Line of Control has made it difficult for the ISI to send militants into India and hence it is now using its local resources to fan trouble in the Kashmir valley. Terror organisations affiliated to the ISI are selectively targeting civilians, knowing full well that killing these people will lead to trouble in the valley. That is why they targeted the former militants and members of the Geelani group,” an intelligence official familiar with the development said.

Normal life was disrupted in the valley after the separatists called for a strike on Wednesday to protest against the mysterious killings. All shops, business establishments, educational institutions in Srinagar and other parts of the valley remained closed. The strike was jointly called by separatist leaders such as Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Shabir Shah and Mohammad Yasin Malik.

MHA officials said that the ISI was desperate because of two reasons: First, that it was not able to disrupt the Assembly elections; second and more importantly, the fact that the “Hindu” Bharatiya Janata Party did well in the elections and came to share power with the People’s Democratic Party. “We are expecting more trouble, as the Amarnath Yatra is approaching. There has been a definite rise in infiltration attempts. The frequency of attacks also can go up in the coming months. We have strong evidence and inputs that suggest that the encouragement for the same is coming from ISI and those who are sitting in Pakistan