New Delhi, March 18 (IANS) Post Operation Sindoor, the biggest headache for Pakistan has been recruitments. Prior to the operation carried out by the Indian armed forces that took down terror infrastructure, recruitments into groups such as the Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Tayiba were free flowing.

An Intelligence assessment says that recruitments have fallen by nearly 30 to 40 per cent. This has led to the ISI changing its strategy wherein, the recruitments are more driven by money rather than ideology.

This strategy remains the same when it comes to recruiting for Islamic groups such as the Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Tayiba, the espionage network and also the Khalistan terror groups, an official said.

The ISI realised that ideology is not exactly a driving force any longer. The damage that Operation Sindoor has done to the morale of terror groups has automatically led to the recruitment drives falling sharply.

The ISI has, however, managed to find some success when it comes to drawing youth by luring them with money. What is interesting, the ISI is ready to recruit the youth irrespective of their religion, faith or caste.

The ISI’s handlers have been scouting for youth in large numbers and has been offering them huge sums of money.

The ISI is ready to spend anything in the range of Rs 10,000 to Rs 200,000 depending on the role that has been assigned to the one who is being recruited.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that the lure of money has been working to some extent for the ISI.

The target audience are students and those who are in need of money. However, an interesting aspect that has cropped up during the multiple investigations that are being carried out is that the ISI has managed to tap more into those who want to lead a high-profile lifestyle.

The traction for this strategy has caught on more for those wanting to better their lifestyle rather than those who are in need of money.

An Intelligence Bureau official says that the ISI has instructed its handlers and recruiters not to bother about the religion of the people they are recruiting. This means that a module or a network would have people from various faiths.

This ensures that these modules come lesser under the radar, the official added.

The ISI implemented the money over ideology strategy first for the Khalistan terror networks. It realised that the movement is not getting enough traction.

The ISI has been trying to exploit the drug problem that is rampant in Punjab. It is reaching out to the youth and offering large sums of money, so that they can pay to buy the drugs that flow into Punjab.

The Intelligence agencies warn that this recruitment drive is only going to get bigger. The target audience is huge and the ISI is recruiting people from all faiths to run the espionage network and also to provide logistic support to terror groups.

There is a particular concern at the border areas, where Pakistani elements are trying to dig out as much information as possible on the movement of troops and military installations.

In the major cities the recruitment drive is more focussed on roping in youth to provide logistic support for the terror groups. These youth are paid money to shoot videos of government offices, the buildings that house the judiciary, police stations, railway stations among others.

Another official said that in a nutshell, if one looks at the pattern, the ISI is clearly not aiming for an immediate strike.

It is biding time trying to build a pan-India network and also gather as much data as possible.

Currently the Pakistanis are busy with their war against the Afghan Taliban, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).

The Pakistan Army is getting assistance from terror groups such as the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Tayiba.

The strategy that the ISI has adopted for recruitments will not only revive the agency, but also all the other terror groups.

The ISI is hoping that by the time these groups revive, it would have a minefield of information and an army of recruits in India.

The Intelligence agencies have also advised the police to keep a close tab on influencers.

The Indian agencies had busted a huge network of spies, which comprised influencers with a large following.

The ISI would look to target them once again and then try and win a narrative battle against India, Intelligence Bureau officials say.

--IANS

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