ISI trains over 1,000 ISKP terrorists to target Afghan Taliban, raising fears of spillover into India

New Delhi, Oct 31 (IANS) Pakistan has set up four dedicated camps to train terrorists of the Islamic State in large numbers and then send them into Afghanistan to carry out attacks. Experts say that Pakistan could gradually divert some of the ISKP terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir.

Since tensions with the Afghan Taliban escalated, Pakistan and the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) have come closer as they are fighting a common enemy.

The Afghan Taliban and Pakistan have had a falling out over issues over the Durand Line and since then tensions have soared.

Pakistan has even carried out air strikes in Afghanistan and the Taliban, too, have responded fiercely.

Training camps in Pakistan, specially to train members of the ISKP have been mushrooming in recent month.

Intelligence Bureau officials say that the ISI plans to train over a 1,000 terrorists of the ISKP with the specific intention that they carry out attacks on the Afghan Taliban.

Various forms of training are being imparted, the Indian agencies say.

Terrorists are being trained to fight on the land so that they can take on the Taliban fighters. There are training camps for suicide strikers as well, officials say.

It is also learnt that many officers of the Pakistan Army, both current and former, are involved in the training process.

The ISKP since its inception has been in a battle with the Taliban and seeks to overthrow the Taliban regime and rule Afghanistan.

However, the ISKP has been no match for the Taliban and hence grabbed the opportunity that Pakistan offered it.

Officials say that many ISKP members are being taken into Pakistan from Afghanistan and then are sent to camps in Balochistan and the tribal areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The arrest of one Mohammad by the Afghan security officials also confirmed the claims that Pakistan had become a training ground for ISKP terrorists.

The terrorist detained told the security officials that he had undergone ideological and combat training in Pakistan’s Quetta region. He said that when he entered Afghanistan with a fake ID card, his name was Mohammad. He also said that the ISI had made significant efforts to indoctrinate him.

While the terror camps set up by Pakistan to train ISKP terrorists are solely focussed on Afghanistan, officials warn that in the future this could have ramifications for the entire region.

India is a country of interest for the ISKP and over the next couple of months, it could expand its area of operations away from Afghanistan as well.

When the ISKP was set up, its primary focus was on defeating the Taliban. The terror group had however made it clear that it was interested in setting up a Caliphate that included India.

The terror group has also shown keen interest in fighting in Jammu and Kashmir.

Experts say that Pakistan could gradually divert some of the ISKP terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir. The ISI feels that having another terror group in the Valley in addition to the Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Tayiba would make the battle stronger for them.

Another worry for the Indian agencies is that apart from sending in trained fighters of the ISKP, there is every chance of a recruitment drive being launched.

The ISKP has in the past hired Indians and trained them in Pakistan. Now the ISI would look to recruit from India and then train them in camps in Pakistan.

At the last count at least 21 people from Kerala left the country and joined the ISKP in Afghanistan. They were being trained so that they could be later sent back to India and carry out terror strikes.

--IANS

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