New Delhi/Srinagar, August 24, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Fresh threat letters targeting Kashmiri Pandits have brought under scrutiny the alleged role of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in using local front organizations in Jammu and Kashmir to collect information about residents, according to intelligence officials.
An official familiar with the alleged modus operandi said such groups could approach people under the guise of social or community work and collect details including their workplaces, residential addresses and telephone numbers. The information, according to the official, is subsequently shared with handlers operating from across the border and can be used to facilitate targeted attacks and spread fear.
An Intelligence Bureau official said organizations such as the United Liberation Council (ULC) were allegedly being used for this purpose. According to the official, such organizations present themselves as legitimate social fronts while allegedly collecting and passing on sensitive information that could assist in planning terrorist attacks in the Valley.
The official said precise information about potential targets could help handlers plan attacks, adding that the locations and movements of victims in some recent incidents indicated detailed advance information.
The latest concern follows the circulation of a threat letter aimed at Kashmiri Pandits who are considering relocating to Jammu and Kashmir or raising their children there. Similar letters and social media posts have reportedly appeared periodically, with the alleged objective of discouraging members of the community from returning to the Valley.
According to the source material, such threats have historically included demands that Kashmiri Pandits leave, convert or face death. The latest tactics allegedly involve circulating threatening letters and social media content rather than issuing such threats openly.
The officials also expressed concern that recent letters contain specific personal information, including addresses and telephone numbers of Kashmiri Pandits. Some allegedly include details of people currently living outside Jammu and Kashmir.
The intelligence officials attributed the availability of such information to what they described as an ISI strategy involving local front organizations. They cautioned people and officials interacting with such groups to exercise care while sharing personal or sensitive information.
The source material also states that Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed relative peace since the abrogation of Article 370, encouraging some Kashmiri Pandits to return and reclaim property and lives left behind after the violence and displacement that began in the early 1990s.
The allegations regarding the ISI, the ULC and the circulation of the latest threat letters remain subject to verification by security agencies and investigation.