Curious case of Rohingya Muslim porters: Photos leave Intelligence Bureau, Raw, Indian Army in a fix

Photos of alleged Rohingya Muslim porters have baffled the Indian security forces. These guides are thought to have been pushed in by Pakistan spy agency ISI along with six heavily armed Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir.

Even as the Union Home Minister on Thursday made a strong pitch for deportation of 40,000 Rohingya Muslims from India, the intelligence agencies and security forces have been abuzz with 10 photos of alleged Rohingya Muslim porter guides who have been pushed in by Pakistan spy agency ISI along with six heavily armed Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir, sometime around the end of August.
However, what is more worrisome are the pictures which are in custody of Indian Army, Central Armed Police Force and Jammu Kashmir Police.
No agency has come forward to authenticate the sensitive information.
Sources in multiple agencies including Intelligence Bureau (IB), Raw and Indian Army said that these pictures exist on paper, the same has not been authenticated and hence remain unverified.
Inspector General (IG) Muneer Khan however said that one part of the story is correct where six JeM terrorists seemed to have been infiltrated from Poonch -  three of those getting killed in Pulwama District in a Fidayeen attack are identified as Abu Saad, Dawood and Al Bakr, while three from the group were killed in Satora, Tral, in August last week.
Sources said one unidentified terrorist may still be at large.
IG Kashmir Muneer Khan told India Today that so far Rohingya Muslims are found to be involved in terror activity in Kashmir Valley.
"The men in the pictures appear to be Caucasians, the grass is tall and thick, which is not how it is in the Valley or even the Poonch region."
Another high level source in intelligence agencies said that these pictures are believed to have been orchestrated.
The process of verification of the pictures is still on but it has already stirred a security threat.
There are reports of Rohingya terrorists fighting alongside Pakistani extremists in Kashmir. One of their top leaders, Chotta Burmi, was rumoured to be killed in Kashmir along with JeM commander Adil Pathan last year. But there has been no confirmation of the same till date.
Though the intelligence forces also point out threat from little-known Rohingya terror group Aqa Mul Mujahideen, blamed for the recent attacks on Myanmar border outposts with links to Pakistan-based terror organisation operated by Hafiz Saeed, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), but the worry is that the terror group may have developed ties with the JeM cell in Jammu and Kashmir.
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs of India, Kiren Rijuju speaking to reporters said "There is hard evidence that there are Rohingya porters who have been used as guides."
As the matter of Rohingya Muslims escalates, security forces are on high alert to nip any infiltration bid.
The agencies are however cautious. "Prima facie there is no evidence but Pakistan cannot be trusted and will look at any possible links. Our forces have been on alert at the western border with Pakistan at the LoC and border always."
On August 8, the Home Ministry sent a notice to all states asking them to identify and start the process of deporting Rohingyas.
"Illegal migrants are more vulnerable to getting recruited by terrorist organisations. Infiltration from Rakhine state of Myanmar (where Rohingyas are based) into Indian territory, especially in the recent years besides being burden on the limited resources of the country, also aggravates the security challenges posed to the country," the notice had said.
Meanwhile the case comes up for hearing in the apex court on the October 3.

 indiatoday

Even as the Union Home Minister on Thursday made a strong pitch for deportation of 40,000 Rohingya Muslims from India, the intelligence agencies and security forces have been abuzz with 10 photos of alleged Rohingya Muslim porter guides who have been pushed in by Pakistan spy agency ISI along with six heavily armed Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir, sometime around the end of August. However, what is more worrisome are the pictures which are in custody of Indian Army, Central Armed Police Force and Jammu Kashmir Police. No agency has come forward to authenticate the sensitive information. Sources in multiple agencies including Intelligence Bureau (IB), Raw and Indian Army said that these pictures exist on paper, the same has not been authenticated and hence remain unverified. Inspector General (IG) Muneer Khan however said that one part of the story is correct where six JeM terrorists seemed to have been infiltrated from Poonch – three of those getting killed in Pulwama District in a Fidayeen attack are identified as Abu Saad, Dawood and Al Bakr, while three from the group were killed in Satora, Tral, in August last week. Sources said one unidentified terrorist may still be at large. IG Kashmir Muneer Khan told India Today that so far Rohingya Muslims are found to be involved in terror activity in Kashmir Valley. “The men in the pictures appear to be Caucasians, the grass is tall and thick, which is not how it is in the Valley or even the Poonch region.” Another high level source in intelligence agencies said that these pictures are believed to have been orchestrated. The process of verification of the pictures is still on but it has already stirred a security threat. There are reports of Rohingya terrorists fighting alongside Pakistani extremists in Kashmir. One of their top leaders, Chotta Burmi, was rumoured to be killed in Kashmir along with JeM commander Adil Pathan last year. But there has been no confirmation of the same till date.

idrw.org .Read more at India No 1 Defence News Website http://idrw.org/curious-case-of-rohingya-muslim-porters-photos-leave-intelligence-bureau-raw-indian-army-in-a-fix/ .