Pak Army helping LeT in spreading unrest in Kashmir: NIA

The National Intelligence Agency (NIA) on Wednesday disclosed that Bahadur Ali, who was apprehended after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Buhan Wani, has confessed to the involvement of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Pakistan Army behind the unrest in Kashmir.

Briefing the media here, NIA chief Sanjeev Kumar said Ali was initially recruited by the Jamaat-ud-Dawa and trained by the LeT to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir and brew tension in the region.

Kumar said Ali during his interrogation confessed that he was directed to take advantage of the unrest in Kashmir Valley.

"We have collected all kinds of evidences. Bahadur Ali was directed to take advantage of the current situation in Kashmir," said Kumar.

"Bahadur Ali was recruited by the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, subsequently LeT radicalised him. Bahadur Ali underwent all three training process organised by the LeT," he added.

Kumar further said the articles seized during Ali's arrest explain that the LeT operative was trained by masters of the field.

"Recovered articles show that the terrorist was provided great referrals in codes. It shows very highly trained people trained him," said Kumar.

"Bahadur Ali said that there were a few army officers in civilian clothes, who checked their preparedness with a check-list. And that he crossed into Indian side on either 11th or 12th June along with two LeT cadres," he added.

The NIA chief further said Ali also disclosed that there were around 30-50 trainees at the training camps of LeT from different parts of the countries, including Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Kumar said Ali's investigation is underway and added that they would be exploring tangents relating to the role of LeT in the ongoing Kashmir unrest.

The NIA also showed a video of Ali's confession. He was arrested on July 25 with weapons, including an AK-47 rifle, live rounds, grenades and grenade launcher.

Earlier on Tuesday, India summoned Pakistani High Commissioner Abdul Basit and handed him a "strong demarche" over Islamabad's continued support to cross-border terrorism by pushing in trained terrorists to carry out attacks, particularly in Kashmir.

Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar called the Pakistani envoy to his South Block office and lodged a strong protest over the issue as he made a specific reference to the LeT terrorist Bahadur Ali.