ISLAMABAD: Police in Pakistan’s Azad Jammu and Kashmir said on Thursday they had arrested an operative of India’s intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), in Rawalakot.
The Inspector General of AJK Police Liaquat Ali Malik, addressing a press conference, said the arrested individual, identified as Irfan, had been conducting surveillance of sensitive locations and recording videos of military installations, schools, bridges, and other government buildings in AJK.
He said the man was also involved in planning to target military installations and educational institutions.
The official stated that the police’s timely action foiled the enemy’s malicious intentions, adding that an entire network was also exposed during the operation.
Malik reaffirmed that the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Police remain committed to ensuring peace and security in the region at all costs and will not allow any hostile designs to succeed.
The IGP further revealed that the arrested man had been in contact with India’s intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), through social media and was sharing information about sensitive sites.
He noted that anti-state elements were operating in an organised manner, identifying key locations in an attempt to undermine state security.
He added that the RAW operative was also involved in planning attacks targeting innocent civilians, but the police’s timely intervention prevented a potential threat.
The IGP emphasised that the action against such elements will continue and that all hostile plans will be thwarted.
Liaquat Ali Malik made it clear that the sanctity of Azad Kashmir’s land will be protected at all costs, and that security institutions will continue taking all necessary measures to ensure lasting peace and stability in the region.
It is worth mentioning that three days earlier, Pakistan’s security agencies had arrested three individuals involved in espionage for India’s RAW during a successful intelligence operation.
The arrested persons belonged to the districts of Narowal and Bahawalpur in Punjab, as well as Rawalakot in Azad Kashmir.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has previously accused India of using proxies to revive terrorism in Pakistan after its defeat in last year’s military conflict, warning that lasting peace in the region would remain out of reach unless New Delhi abandoned its “aggressive, expansionist and hegemonic ambitions.”
In December last year, the Punjab Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) reported the arrest of 12 RAW operatives during intelligence-based operations carried out in Lahore, Faisalabad, and Bahawalpur.
