In a major success, security agencies have carried out a multi-state crackdown against the ISI-backed Shahzad Bhatti network ahead of Independence Day, busting its terror syndicate operating across different parts of the country.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the Narendra Modi government had dismantled the ISI-backed terror network ahead of Independence Day and foiled attempts to create disturbances in different parts of the country.
“Modi govt destroyed the ISI-backed terror group Shahzad Bhatti Network ahead of Independence Day and thwarted its plans for subversive attacks by arresting more than 200 operatives,” Amit Shah posted on his social media handle.
“Indian security forces ripped apart the network by launching coordinated operations across different locations in 14 states, upholding a brilliant example of India’s zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism,” he said.
He added, “Substantial recoveries, including IEDs, grenades bearing Pakistan Ordnance Factory markings, pistols, live cartridges; and CCTV cameras used for espionage, were made from the ISI-funded group. The network was involved in several terrorist activities.”
The Shahzad Bhatti Network is a Pakistan-based, ISI-backed terror syndicate allegedly linked to grenade, IED and petrol-bomb attacks as well as targeted killings across India. The network has also allegedly been paying local conduits to conduct reconnaissance of police, defence and religious sites and install CCTV cameras for espionage.
To counter disruptions allegedly planned by the network around Independence Day, a coordinated multi-state operation was carried out on August 12 using a real-time intelligence-sharing system in coordination with state police forces.
The operation led to 253 detentions across 14 states — Uttar Pradesh (62), Haryana (52), Delhi (51), Punjab (44), Rajasthan (15), Maharashtra (8), Uttarakhand (5), Karnataka, Gujarat and Bihar (3 each), and Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala (2 each). Fresh FIRs were also registered in Delhi and Karnataka.
Cumulatively, more than 80 FIRs have been registered, and over 200 arrests have been made against members of the Shahzad Bhatti Network under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Arms Act, Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and Explosive Substances Act.
Modi govt destroyed the ISI-backed terror group Shahzad Bhatti Network ahead of Independence Day and thwarted its plans for subversive attacks by arresting more than 200 operatives.
Indian security forces ripped apart the network by launching coordinated operations across…
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) August 17, 2026
Recoveries include IEDs, grenades bearing Pakistan Ordnance Factory markings, pistols, live cartridges and CCTV cameras allegedly used for espionage, indicating the network’s suspected cross-border links.
Security agencies have reiterated the Government of India’s zero-tolerance policy towards cross-border terrorism and vowed to continue coordinated operations to dismantle such networks across the country.
Agencies Already Monitoring Jammu Gangsters for Links to Shahzad Bhatti
Security agencies in Jammu and Kashmir have already intensified surveillance of several notorious gangsters in Jammu following revelations that some local criminals may have links with Dubai-based gangster-turned-terror operative Shahzad Bhatti, who is accused of smuggling narcotics into Jammu and Kashmir and supporting anti-national activities.
Recently, Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat issued a stern warning to Bhatti, describing him as an accomplice of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in pushing drugs into India.
“A warning to Pakistan-based Shahzad Bhatti, who is ISI’s acolyte and partner in pumping narcotics into India: we will hunt and hound you and your associates and decimate your evil infrastructure,” the DGP had stated.