ISI’s hidden Khalistan card: Why the KLA is the biggest threat yet
New Delhi, July 1 (IANS) In the last 18 months, the names of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) and Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) have been doing the rounds. All these terror groups who are working under the patronage of the ISI have been instructed to revive the Khalistan movement in Punjab. However, the Khalistan Liberation Army (KLA) is the ISI’s hidden weapon and the biggest threat yet to India.
While the ISI has been pushing the BKI to take the lead and strike in Punjab, the Indian agencies have learnt that the most potent and dangerous Khalistani terror groups is awaiting formal re-activation.
The Intelligence agencies have learnt that the terror group that is most dangerous among them and has the most well-trained operatives is the KLA.
The outfit and its operatives have been kept in the shadows and once re-activated fully, is expected to deliver a deadly blow in Punjab.
An official said that the ISI’s strategy is to have the Indian agencies chase groups such as the BKI, KLF and KZF while keeping the activities of the KLA low-key and under wraps.
In the 1990s, the KLA operated as a smaller faction group within the wider Khalistani network. It usually operated alongside the BKI and the KZF. If one takes a look at the recent claims made following the low-intensity explosions that have rocked Punjab, there is a deliberate attempt that has been made to confuse the security agencies.
Some of the explosions are claimed by the KLA, while the others by the KLF. While the KLA does operate as a separate entity, it is being projected as a proxy of the KLF, an official said.
The KLA has been a faction group of the KLF. However the ISI now wants to adopt a different strategy whereby it was the KLA to lead operations.
The Indian agencies have identified the KLA to be the most well-organised. It has heavily armed cadres and all these years, it was instructed to just act as a proxy group, an official said.
Another official said that the KLA in the months to come would start taking the lead role and come out of its proxy avatar.
At times post an attack, the KLA would claim responsibility or it would be the KLF. This was aimed at confusing the investigating agencies.
Officials noticed that the the ISI would float the name of the KLA every now and then and during the probe it would be found to be some loosely connected proxy group.
However, the Intelligence community has learnt that the main aim was to ensure that the KLA remained low-key. In reality, the ISI was training a large number of its operatives in Pakistan for several years now.
An Intelligence Bureau official said that the effort that the ISI has put into training KLA cadres is huge.
The Pakistani spy agency has even roped in top trainers of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad to work alongside the KLA.
Currently the KLA has a bunch of heavily-trained operatives who are capable of carrying out a major operation.
It is battle ready and is awaiting a complete re-activation, officials say. All these years, the ISI pushed the BKI to be at the forefront of operations relating to the Khalistan movement in Punjab.
Occasionally, it pushed groups such as the KZF and KLF to claim responsibility for attacks. This, according to officials was a smokescreen to ensure that the KLA does not come too much under the radar.
While the KLA has a set of highly-trained and dangerous operatives, it has also made connections with criminal networks and drug syndicates.
Officials say that there is a sense of desperation that has crept in when it comes to the Khalistan issue.
The low-intensity attacks, six of which have taken place in Punjab this year alone, should not be viewed as a failure to carry out big attacks. It is a deliberate strategy that these outfits have adopted.
They aim to keep the Punjab Police and Central agencies on their toes and distract them for the time-being so that the ISI can find that window to launch the KLA into Punjab in a big way, officials also say.
–IANS
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