New Delhi, Aug 2026 : Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has reportedly established a unified operational ecosystem to coordinate the activities of multiple terror groups targeting Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, according to Indian security agencies. Investigators believe the arrangement is intended to improve coordination, streamline communication and make operations more effective.
The findings emerged during the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) investigation into the Pahalgam terror attack, which has reportedly provided agencies with insights into the evolving organisational structure of Pakistan-based terror networks.
According to officials familiar with the investigation, the ISI has established a common operating command in Pakistan that coordinates activities linked to groups such as Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and The Resistance Front (TRF), which Indian authorities have described as a proxy of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
Officials said the common ecosystem allows instructions to be issued through a centralised mechanism rather than separately through individual terror organisations. The arrangement also reportedly oversees online propaganda, radicalisation campaigns and recruitment efforts targeting vulnerable sections of the population.
An Intelligence Bureau official said the development represents an evolution in the ISI’s strategy following Operation Sindoor, with greater emphasis being placed on coordination between different terror networks.
The official said the ISI has sought to bring major Pakistan-based Islamist groups, including Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hizbul Mujahideen, under a common command structure. Rather than allowing the leadership of individual organisations to independently direct operations, the reported arrangement places greater responsibility with ISI officials.
Investigators have also reportedly found indications that cadres belonging to different organisations may coordinate during infiltration attempts. Previously, officials said, individual terror groups generally sent their own cadres across the Line of Control and maintained separate command and operational structures.
The reported changes are not limited to Islamist terror groups. According to the findings, the ISI has also sought to bring various Khalistan-linked organisations under a broader coordination mechanism.
Around four months ago, groups including Babbar Khalsa International and Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) were reportedly instructed to cooperate more closely. Officials believe the latest strategy indicates an effort to establish a wider ecosystem in which different terror networks can coordinate while retaining separate operational identities.
Despite the common command, security officials said the individual groups would continue to operate within their traditional areas of activity. BKI cadres, for instance, would not necessarily be deployed for operations in Jammu and Kashmir, while LeT or JeM cadres would not be expected to undertake operations in Punjab.
Instead, the principal change is reportedly at the command and coordination level, with strategic instructions originating from a unified structure.
Security agencies have identified online radicalisation and recruitment as one of the principal areas of concern. Operatives associated with different groups are reportedly operating multiple social-media accounts targeting audiences in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.
According to investigators, these activities extend beyond conventional propaganda. The NIA has reportedly found the use of Telegram bots and automated channels to distribute extremist material, including radical content and instructions related to attacks and bomb-making.
Officials believe the coordinated online ecosystem could enable terror organisations to reach potential recruits more efficiently and maintain a continuous propaganda campaign.
An official described the reported unified command structure as a serious security concern because coordination between multiple organisations could reduce communication gaps and make it more difficult for Indian agencies to identify the specific group responsible for an operation.
Investigators also believe that overlapping networks could complicate intelligence gathering because individuals associated with different organisations may operate through common digital platforms, communication channels and logistical networks.
To maintain control over the structure, the ISI has reportedly deployed several of its own officers to oversee the unified command. According to an official cited in the investigation, the personnel involved ultimately report to two senior ISI officers identified as Brigadier Iqbal and Colonel Owaiz.
The reported development highlights the increasingly networked nature of Pakistan-based terror operations, with security agencies facing not only traditional cross-border infiltration threats but also coordinated online propaganda, radicalisation and recruitment campaigns.
Indian agencies are continuing to investigate the extent of the reported command structure, the identities of individuals involved and the links between terror groups operating across Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. Officials are also examining how the coordination mechanism may have evolved and whether it has been used in specific attacks or infiltration attempts.
The findings, if confirmed, would represent a significant shift from the earlier model in which individual terror organisations largely operated through separate command chains, indicating a greater degree of centralised coordination under Pakistan’s intelligence apparatus.
(Disclaimer :The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)
