New Delhi, June 22: The Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is reinventing itself and exploring alternative routes to wreak havoc.
The move follows Islamabad’s crackdown on Pakistani terrorist groups as it buckled under the intense global pressure in the aftermath of 26/11.
The arrest of key LeT operative Mohammed Umer Madni earlier this month and ongoing investigations against Pakistan-based groups have revealed these startling facts.
Sources in New Delhi said the proscribed group and its Pakistani mentors are working on a new strategy which involves using Dubai as the centre of planning for future strikes against India and recruiting locals for the purpose.
Dubai, which came into the limelight after the 1993 Bombay serial blasts, had emerged in the ‘ 90s as a centre of anti-India activities led by mafia don Dawood Ibrahim. Close security cooperation between India and the United Arab Emirates in the past decade has kept the terror network in Dubai in check. But India fears efforts are being made to revive it.
Sources also said Bangladesh, which has been on the LeT radar for the past few years, can again be used to target Indian cities.
“More and more attacks are being planned and hatched outside Pakistan; it would be difficult for India to directly accuse Islamabad of abetting terror against it,” a source pointed out.
The LeT is also looking to carry out terror attacks through locals in India. The banned group is attempting to recruit graduates from different Indian states and expand its network in Delhi, Jharkhand and Bihar, where sleeper cells of the outfit are already operational. The sleeper cells provide logistic and monetary support to its men who managed to sneak either through Line of Control in Kashmir or via the porous Indo-Nepal or Indo-Bangladesh borders.
The 26/11 Mumbai terror attack also demonstrated the vulnerability of the Indian coastline.
It has been learnt that the group is now planning to transfer arms to Indian ships and vessels through the sea route. “Vessels arranged by LeT’s Indian contacts can enter Indian waters without any difficulty. This reduces the risk of smuggling or transferring arms through the terrestrial route,” a source said.
The Indian security establishment is also worried by recent reports of Gulf money flowing into Nepali madrassa s along the Indian border. The money could easily be channelised for training and providing logistic support to jihadi outfits which are trying to set up the bases in the Himalayan kingdom.
——Agencies