Army intel nails Pak bounty hunters

The Pakistan Army has been offering as much as Rs 5 lakh in cash reward to these mercenaries to carry out the beheading of Indian soldiers.

By Abhishek Bhalla | Mail Today – Thu 31 Jan, 2013 3:08 PM IST

New Delhi: At a time when efforts are on to defuse the recent escalation of tension between neighbours India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the barbaric killing of two Indian soldiers, there comes the chilling revelation of Pakistan Army’s sinister design to carry out more such attacks.

A note based on ground intelligence in the aftermath of the January 8 killing and subsequent beheading of one jawan shows that the Pakistan Army has been making lucrative offers to mercenaries, who are being called “local guides”, to launch an offensive against the Indian Army.

According to the intelligence input, the Pakistan Army has been offering as much as Rs 5 lakh in cash reward to these mercenaries to carry out the beheading of Indian soldiers.

If the intelligence inputs are an indicator of the Pakistan Army’s plans, the recent offensive is unlikely to be the last one. The intelligence note claimed that the Pakistan Army, as incentives to mercenaries, has also announced rewards for carrying out different categories of attacks.

The intelligence input said that local guides who assist the border action teams of the Pakistan Army would be awarded Rs 5 lakh for beheading, Rs 10,000 for killing an Indian soldier in sniper fire and Rs 5,000 for planting a mine.

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Moreover, a guide can be paid between Rs 2,000 and Rs 12,000 for being part of the operation.

“Pak army units have been asked to recruit locals from villages near the LoC so that they can be trained and subsequently recruited for acting as local guides,” the note stated.

The input has been shared with intelligence agencies such as the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) and Military Intelligence. Keeping in mind the high threat perception, even the Border Security Force has been alerted about the possibility of infiltrations and similar attacks on the Jammu border.

What’s more, the man responsible for the beheading of one Indian soldier in Mendhar has been identified by intelligence agencies. The recent note claimed that “Anwar Khan, a local guide, was rewarded Rs 5 lakh by Colonel Siddiqui of Pak ISI”. Sources said this is not the first time Khan was involved in such a gruesome act. In 1996, he was responsible for the beheading of an Indian Army captain in the same area.

Former Naval officer and security expert, Commodore Uday Bhaskar said such pacts between the Pakistan Army and non-regulars take place often.

“This was highlighted during the Kargil war when (Gen Pervez) Musharraf rewarded Ilyas Kashmiri for beheading an Indian soldier,” Commodore Bhaskar said.

According to the intelligence input, a meeting between senior officers of the Pakistan Army’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and commanders of some terror groups was held at Rawalkote in PoK where the cash rewards were announced. Intelligence sources said besides LeT chief and Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, Hizbul Mujahideen supremo Syed Salahuddin was also there.


Reproduced From Mail Today. Copyright 2013. MTNPL. All rights reserved.

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