New Delhi, August 27, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Investigations into activities allegedly linked to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) have identified a growing number of front organisations that officials say are being used to conceal the identities of established terror groups and provide them with plausible deniability.
Officials cited The Resistance Front (TRF) as an example, describing it as a front for Lashkar-e-Tayiba (LeT) that was created to distance the parent organisation from attacks.
According to an Intelligence Bureau official, similar tactics are now being seen in cases involving newer recruitment and terror modules operating under the names of other organisations.
The official said the network associated with Shehzad Bhatti operated under the banner of Tehreek-e-Taliban Hindustan (TTH), which Indian agencies describe as a non-existent organisation. The name, according to the official, was used to provide a cover for the network and create an apparent connection with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Officials said the use of such names creates investigative and legal challenges because several of these purported organisations are neither formally documented by Indian agencies nor proscribed by the Ministry of Home Affairs under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
This, they said, can make it more difficult to establish links and communicate actionable information about the organisations to international agencies, including Interpol.
Officials have recently identified names including United Sikh Brotherhood (USB), Sikh Tigers of Khalistan (STK), Khalistan Armed Force (KAF), Sher-e-Punjab Brigade (SPB), Punjab Sovereignty Alliance (PSA) and Khalistan Liberation Army (KLA). They described these organisations as non-existent fronts allegedly being used in connection with Jaish-e-Mohammad, Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), other Khalistani terror groups and the Shehzad Bhatti network.
According to officials, identifying the actual parent organisation can take considerable time. This delay, they said, may allow the principal group to regroup and modify its strategy while investigators work to establish the links.
Officials stressed the need to identify both the front organisation and its alleged parent group at an early stage, particularly in cases involving suspected ISI links and operatives based outside India.
They said international action becomes easier once an organisation is formally proscribed in India and a chargesheet is filed before a court. Officials cited TRF as an example, saying Indian agencies initially took months to establish its alleged link with LeT before the organisation was placed on the MHA’s proscribed list. The United States subsequently also designated TRF.
Officials warned that the emergence of new names for purported terror fronts could remain a significant challenge for Indian investigative and security agencies.
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