Are We Prepared?

Paris has sent alarm bells clanging in India’s security establishment. Word is, “lone wolf” attacks could be carr­ied out by an entity that is closer to India than you would imagine. Indian intelligence reports say that, since January, an ISIS affiliate called the Wilayat Khorasan (WK) has been operating in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region and “may pay attention to Indian interests there”.

Indian intelligence agencies are closely monitoring WK (otherwise known as the Islamic State of Khorasan). This includes the Nangarhar province, which is close to Pakis­tan, and at the mouth of the famed Khyber Pass. If ISIS moves eastwards, the worry will be greater, officials admit. “The Islamic State of Khorasan does include India,” says former NSA M.K. Narayanan. The AfPak region is training ground for jehadis who are moving to Syria, say Indian intelligence reports.

Alarmist stance? After Paris, Indian security agencies are taking no chances. An intelligence report accessed by Outlook says, “The call for lone wolf attacks by ISIS spo­kes­man Al Adnani to attack US and any enemy has resulted in increased attacks in different countries.... Individuals inspired by ISIS ide­o­logy may resort to such attacks (in India).”

To be sure, the ISIS footprint in India is still rather faint. nia officials estimate that only 23 Indians have left to fight for ISIS. Another 15-20 were prevented from leaving or brought back midway from places like Dubai. At least 150 people interacting with ISIS online are on intelligence agencies’ radars. They’ll be intercepted if they leave for Syria, say officials.

Mehdi Masroor Biswas, creator of Twitter handle @ShamiWitness, is one such. Booked for sedition, Biswas was an engineer working with ITC Ltd at the time of his arrest. “He’s the only Indian who was helping the ISIS rec­ruit even Pakistanis. He still remains key,” says a top intelligence official. India-specific jehadist organisation, Ansar-ut Tawhid fi Bilad al-Hind (AuT), which pledged allegiance to the ISIS in 2014, could be its face in India. AuT has been encouraging Indian Muslims to participate in the jehad within India. “This group has been active in cyberspace and in the past has posted ISIS messages with subtitles in Urdu, Hindi, Tamil, Gujarati and English. ISIS propaganda has been started in Bengali as well,” says an intelligence note.

For every Areeb Majeed (the only Indian who came back from Syria, he fought along with Kurdish rebels), the AuT is ready to recruit more fighters in the subcontinent for the ISIS. “The ISIS propaganda for India is certainly very seductive,” says Narayanan.

Former home secretary G.K. Pillai tells Outlook that the government is on the ball. “India has appointed Asif Ibrahim, India’s special envoy on counter-terrorism, to coor­dinate with countries in West Asia on the ISIS,” he says.