BRICS Summit 2026: Shahzad Bhatti Network On Security Radar Over Possible Delhi Attacks

Security agencies have warned of possible low-intensity attacks and disruptive activity in Delhi and its peripheral areas ahead of the BRICS Summit 2026, with the latest threat assessment naming Pakistan-based alleged ISI handler Shahzad Bhatti and his network as a potential security concern, according to security sources.

For the first time, Indian security agencies have included Bhatti in a threat-assessment advisory, with agencies examining whether his network could use local operatives to carry out reconnaissance, procure weapons and identify vulnerable or sensitive locations. Police personnel are also being assessed as possible targets, the sources said.

According to News18, the advisory has called for heightened surveillance of suspicious movements, possible online recruitment, attempts to procure arms and reconnaissance of sensitive installations and locations. Agencies are also assessing the possibility of targeted firing, grenade attacks and other disruptive activities in and around the national capital.

Investigators are keeping watch on suspected local conduits who could potentially be activated by the Pakistan-based network for reconnaissance, recruitment, logistics or weapons procurement. The latest assessment comes weeks after a coordinated multi-state crackdown against what authorities have described as the ISI-backed Shahzad Bhatti Network (SBN).

Crackdown Across 14 States

Security agencies carried out the operation on August 12 through coordinated intelligence-sharing with state police forces, ahead of Independence Day. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said 253 people were detained across 14 states: Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Gujarat, Bihar, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Kerala.

The MHA said the operation was aimed at countering disruptions allegedly being planned around Independence Day and was part of the government's stated “zero tolerance" policy towards cross-border terrorism.

According to the Home Ministry, security forces recovered IEDs, grenades bearing Pakistan Ordnance Factory markings, pistols, live cartridges and CCTV cameras allegedly used for espionage during the operations.

The MHA also said more than 80 FIRs and over 200 arrests had cumulatively been recorded against the network. Cases have been registered under provisions including the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Arms Act, NDPS Act and Explosive Substances Act.

Focus On Local Conduits

The MHA has described the Shahzad Bhatti Network as a Pakistan-based, ISI-backed terror syndicate allegedly linked to grenade, IED and petrol-bomb attacks, as well as targeted killings in India.

Authorities have also alleged that members of the network paid local conduits to conduct reconnaissance of police, defence and religious sites and install CCTV cameras for surveillance and espionage.

News18 reported that agencies remain concerned about the possibility of residual operatives or sympathisers attempting to revive parts of the network. Officials are consequently maintaining a close watch on individuals suspected of facilitating reconnaissance, recruitment, logistics and weapons procurement, particularly in and around Delhi.

With the BRICS Summit 2026 expected to bring heightened security requirements to the capital, agencies are assessing the possibility that any low-level attack or disruption could be used to create panic, divert security resources or test the response of law enforcement agencies.