LeT terrorist's arrest proves Pakistan behind infiltration: Govt

Pakistani national Bahadur Ali was arrested in J&K on July 25 along with weapons, including an AK-47 rifle, live rounds of ammunition, grenades

The arrest of a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist in Jammu and Kashmir last month is yet another proof of Pakistan's continued involvement in cross-border terrorism and infiltration into India, the government said on Thursday

"The capture of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Bahadur Ali is yet another proof of Pakistan's continued involvement in cross-border terrorism and infiltration into India, despite several assurances that it will not allow its territory to be used for terrorism against any other country," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in his weekly media briefing here.

"The interrogation of Bahadur Ali and his confession has clearly revealed the details of the kind of training that is provided to such young men, the camps in which they are kept, the weapons that they are provided and most importantly the indoctrination that they undergo prior to infiltration into India," he said.

On Tuesday, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar summoned Pakistani High Commissioner Abdul Basit and issued a strong demarche on continuing cross-border terrorism from Pakistan.

The demarche stated that Pakistani national Bahadur Ali alias Abu Saifullah was arrested by Indian authorities in Jammu and Kashmir on July 25 along with weapons, including an AK-47 rifle, live rounds of ammunition, grenades and grenade launcher, as well as sophisticated communication equipment and other material of Pakistani and international origin.

It said Bahadur Ali, born on December 17, 1995, is the son of Mohammed Haneef, a resident of Jia Bagga village in the Lahore district of Pakistan's Punjab province.

"Bahadur Ali has confessed to our authorities that after training in Lashkar-e-Toiba camps, he was infiltrated into India," the demarche said.

"He was thereafter in touch with 'operations room' of LeT, receiving instructions to attack Indian security personnel and carry out terrorist attacks in India."

The demarche said India "strongly protests against the continued infiltration from Pakistan of trained terrorists with instructions to carry out attacks".

The Foreign Secretary's action came less than a week after a South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (Saarc) ministerial meet in Islamabad saw bilateral tensions over Kashmir come to the fore.

Pakistani Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had slammed the "use of excessive force", referring to the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir, while Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh criticised the "glorification of terrorists as martyrs".

Both sides did not hold a bilateral meeting, and Rajnath Singh also did not stay for a lunch for the Saarc interior ministers as his Pakistani counterpart, despite giving the invite, left early.

Pakistan had also observed a Black Day last month to protest the deaths in Jammu and Kashmir and also termed Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani a "martyr".

The killing of Wani on July 8 has led to a spiral of protests and violence in Kashmir, leaving over 50 people dead in clashes with security forces.

"Bahadur Ali has also revealed how his Pakistani handlers gave him instructions to mix with the local people, create disturbances and attack police and security forces," Swarup said on Thursday.

"His confession proves that the Lashkar-e-Taiba is sending its cadre in connivance with Pakistani security forces, to fuel large-scale agitation in Kashmir.," he said

Stating that Pakistan now stood completely exposed, the spokesperson said that India has already taken up the matter bilaterally with Pakistan, "including our offer to provide consular access to this Pakistani terrorist".