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.

Following the resignation of Assam Lok Sabha MP, Pradyut Bordoloi, from the Congress, party leader Priyanka Gandhi on Wednesday termed the development as “unfortunate” and “truly regrettable,” expressing disappointment over his exit.

Bordoloi reportedly submitted his resignation to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, ending his long association with the party amid allegations of internal dissatisfaction.

Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Priyanka Gandhi said, “It’s very unfortunate. I think he was upset over one ticket allocation, and I wish we had had a chance to discuss it. It’s truly regrettable.”

Meanwhile, Purnia MP Pappu Yadav said the party is taking the resignation seriously and acknowledged its significance. “The BJP often creates such break-ups. While it may not affect the party’s core ideology, such developments can have an impact during elections. The top leadership will certainly take this seriously,” he said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP, Priyanka Chaturvedi, also expressed concern, alleging that leaders from the Congress are being repeatedly poached. “It is a matter of concern that leaders from the Indian National Congress are being drawn into the Bharatiya Janata Party, with even elected representatives switching sides,” she said.

Echoing similar concerns, Samajwadi Party spokesperson Ashutosh Verma pointed to two possible reasons behind the resignation. “Either he did not receive adequate respect within the Congress, or there may have been external pressure. In recent years, several Opposition leaders have shifted towards the BJP,” he said.

On Tuesday, in a letter addressed to Mallikarjun Kharge, Bordoloi expressed “an overwhelming sense of sadness” while announcing his decision to step down from all posts, privileges, and responsibilities within the party. ​

The brief resignation letter, dated March 17, did not specify the reasons behind his exit, but sources indicate that the move comes amid growing internal dissent and shifting political alignments in Assam. ​

Bordoloi also recently wrote a letter to the Congress leadership expressing his displeasure with the functioning of the Congress party and its state president, Gaurav Gogoi. ​

The central leadership of the Congress did not issue any statement on Bordoloi’s letter, which might have fuelled his exit from the party. ​

New Delhi, March 17: The situation in Afghanistan is going from bad to worse and in the latest attack by Pakistan, 400 people were killed in an airstrike. Officials said this escalation is a dramatic one and signals that Pakistan has no plans of stopping the war that it got into with Afghanistan.

This is the deadliest strike in Afghanistan following the one that took place in 2021 when the US troops were withdrawing from the country. In that attack, which was a suicide bombing, 169 Afghan civilians and 13 US service members were killed.

Since the start of the war in February, there have been repeated clashes between the two sides in the border areas. Pakistan has also used its air power extensively to subdue the Afghan Taliban.

Officials said that Pakistan knows that it cannot sustain boots on the ground with the Taliban. It has tried reaching out to the Taliban, but Kabul has remained firm that it wants no interference from Islamabad.

Another official said that Pakistan is attempting a regime change in Afghanistan. The targeting of a hospital is an attempt by Islamabad to send across a message to the Taliban that they would have to come to the negotiating table, the official added.

Afghanistan’s deputy government spokesperson, Mandullah Fitrat, said the airstrike had hit the hospital at around 9 p.m. local time. A large section of the 2,000-bed facility had been destroyed. He also said that the death toll so far stood at 400, while the number of those injured was at 250. Around 2,000 people were being treated at the drug treatment hospital when the strikes took place.

Fitrat said that rescue operations are on and teams are working to control the fire and recover the bodies. The casualties are likely to be higher, the spokesperson also said.

The ramifications of this strike could be huge, Afghanistan watchers said.

It is clearly a miscalculation by Pakistan, and in this act of madness, it has only managed to unite the Afghan people further. The Afghan people, who were initially not siding with the Taliban, started backing the regime after Pakistan threw out Afghan refugees. This was seen as an act of barbarism by the people of Afghanistan, and they started justifying the Taliban’s actions against Islamabad.

Pakistan was, however, quick to deny any role in the attack. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s spokesman, Mosharraf Zaidi, said that the allegations made by Kabul are baseless and no hospital was targeted.

Pakistan further said that the strikes precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure that included technical equipment storage and ammunition storage of the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan continued to claim without proof that the Afghan Taliban is backing terror groups to target innocent Pakistani civilians.

Islamabad has been attacking Afghanistan since February 26. While Pakistan claims that it has hit military targets, the fact remains that there have been many misses as a result of which there have been a large number of civilian casualties.

With the latest strikes, there have been at least 475 civilian deaths, while 1,15,000 people have been displaced.

Officials said that Pakistan is out to destroy Afghanistan, and the targeting of civilians clearly shows that. Pakistan is also looking to take advantage of the fact that the world is focused on the war in Iran.

With no intervention from the rest of the world, Pakistan hopes to inflict maximum damage on the people of Afghanistan, officials also added.

Since the start of the war, Pakistan has been attempting to change the regime in Afghanistan. Islamabad realises that the regime has the backing of the people. This explains why so many civilians are being targeted.

Media accounts clearly suggest that the Afghan people are ready to go with their children to the border and fight against the Pakistan Army.

The Pakistan Army wants to dissuade the people from backing the Taliban and hence is resorting to killing civilians, officials also said.