Police arrest ‘RAW-linked’ youth in AJK
MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) police on Thursday claimed to have arrested a suspected agent of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in Rawalakot, saying he had been lured and later blackmailed into working for the foreign intelligence agency.
AJK Inspector General of Police (IGP), retired Captain Liaquat Ali Malik, told a press briefing at the Central Police Office here that the suspect, identified as Irfan, a first-year student and resident of Haveli district, had been in contact with RAW through social media.
He added that the suspect had shared videos and locations of sensitive sites, including military installations, schools, bridges and other government buildings in AJK and elsewhere in Pakistan.
The AJK police chief, who was flanked by Poonch Senior Superintendent of Police Khawar Ali Shaukat, said the suspect’s handler, operating through a Facebook account with an address in Lahore, initially assigned him “small tasks” before gradually involving him in geotagging locations, sharing coordinates and recording videos of sensitive installations.
According to his confessional statement, the suspect had received small payments through mobile credit transfers in return for sharing information, he added.
‘Blackmailed’
Mr Malik said such networks typically lured individuals, particularly youth, through fake social media accounts by offering financial incentives before trapping them through blackmail.
“The victims are coerced using recorded chats, images or videos obtained through malicious applications, and are then tasked with gathering information on sensitive military and civilian sites,” he said.
The police chief said the authorities had obtained details of the suspect’s movements across various locations in AJK and Pakistan, and that the network had been dismantled through a pre-emptive operation carried out with the technical assistance of intelligence agencies.
He also presented to the media the communication between the suspect and his handler, including WhatsApp messages.
Parents warned
The AJK police chief warned that hostile agencies were exploiting platforms such as Facebook, TikTok and Instagram to target young people and advance their designs, urging parents to closely monitor their children’s online activities.
“Parents should ensure their children do not, even unknowingly, become tools in the hands of hostile elements or cause harm to the country,” he said.
Mr Malik asserted that law enforcement agencies were fully vigilant and would continue to thwart such attempts with public cooperation.
“We are on the alert on all fronts and will go to any extent to safeguard the sanctity of our land,” he said.
Commending the role of police and other agencies in busting the network, he said those involved would be given special rewards.
Last week, sections of the vernacular media reported that intelligence agencies had, after prolonged surveillance, secured the arrest and subsequent conviction of three individuals from Narowal, Bahawalpur and Neelum in AJK under the Official Secrets Act for allegedly working for RAW. The reports said the suspects had been lured through honey traps and paid via digital wallets, bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets in return for anti-state activities.
Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2026
