The investigators have identified a former sub-inspector named Nasir from Pakistan amid the ongoing probe into Pakistan’s spy network in India. According to reports, Nasir was a key handler in the cross-border spy network from Pakistan. After retiring from the Pakistan’s Police service he started his own YouTube channel and was handpicked by ISI.
“After initial onboarding, Nasir would connect Indian YouTubers visiting Pakistan with the high commission official Danish and others who would then assign them espionage tasks and invite them as guests to the Pakistan high commission in Delhi,” Times of India reported.
The authorities have also found a suspect codenamed ‘Madam N’. Businesswoman Noshaba Shehzad aka Madam N runs a travel agency in Pakistan as a front but works for ISI, according to an NDTV report. The travel agency ‘Jaiyana Travel and Tourism’ is a Lahore-based company which helped Indian social media influencers to visit Pakistan.
The name of Shezad came into the picture during the interrogation of arrested social media influencers in India, according to NDTV. The report further stated that she had been aiming to set up a massive sleeper cell network of at least 500 spies who can hide in plain sight across India.
Part of well-planned ISI operation
The crackdown by Indian agencies on the spy network reportedly built by ISI through social media influencers has revealed a much bigger agenda by Pakistan. According to a senior official, the cases of YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra and Jasbir Singh are not isolated incidents but part of a well-planned operation by the ISI aimed at increasing its reach and collecting information while spreading propaganda.
“ISI has been using a variety of tools to reach out to social media influencers not only in Punjab but across the country in order to weave an espionage-cum-propaganda network, which works out in favour of Pakistan. The first step is to invite the influencers of various platforms like YouTube, Instagram, X, Snapchat, etc, to the get-togethers of the Pakistan High Commission and then offer them visas to visit Pakistan,” the official told Indian Express.