ISI raises Rs 1,800 crores for terror: IB

Funds are instrumental in the success of a terrorist operation and India's war against terror will not be complete unless it acts on this crucial aspect.

Take the instance of the Mumbai terror attacks. Intelligence Bureau officials have specific inputs that Sabahuddin, believed to have been part of the attack at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and the Central Reserve Police Force camp in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, had raised over Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million) for the operation through hawala channels.

An IB dossier reveals in detail how terror operations are financed and what channels Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence uses to ensure that the funds are raised. Besides this, the dossier also states how the ISI uses various channels to carry out terror strikes.

According to the IB dossier, which is in possession of rediff.com, the ISI raises nearly Rs 1,800 crore (Rs 18 billion) through internal generation of funds via investment in different sectors. The IB says the ISI has been using several outfits in India and Pakistan to raise funds for terror operations.

Money for terror operations is raised through smuggling of arms, fake currency, abductions, investment in the stock exchange and real estate.

Operations
The outfits, according to the IB dossier, that have been raising funds for the ISI include Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Tayiba, the Benevolence International Organisation, Bin Laden Front, Al Fuzaira, Khairul Ansar Al Khairia, Daulatatul Kuwait, Revival of Islamic Heritage Society and Doulatatul Bahrain.

The IB says that over the years funding through smuggling of arms and drugs has come down relatively thanks to increased vigil along the borders. Take, for example, the case of fugitive Indian gangster Dawood Ibrahim.

The IB says the understanding reached between Ibrahim and the ISI was that he would be allowed to carry out smuggling operations out of Pakistan provided a part of the income was handed over for terror operations.

However, smuggling of arms and drugs is not hot in the terror circles. The ISI wants to give a more legal face to funding and hence has directed the outfits depending on it to invest in the stock market and real estate.

Lately, there has been a sudden increase in the circulation of fake currency in India. Various outfits like the Students Islamic Movement of India and the Harkat-ul-Jihadi have been using the money generated through the circulation of fake currency for terror-based operations.

How the ISI operates in India

The operation of the ISI in India has been classified into six categories:

1. Home-based operations
2. High Commission/diplomatic mission-based operations
3. Third country-based ISI operations
4. Operations through religious tanzeems (outfits)
5. Operations through jihadists in third countries
6. Operations using intelligence agencies in third countries.

The ISI methodology has been classified thus:

Shallow penetration trans-border operations

Deep penetration itinerary operations

Long term residents

Short term residents

Sleeper long term cells

Specific sabotage and subversion operations against primed targets

Operations through cloned tanzeem cells in collaboration with home-based tanzeem

Exploitation of the underworld