Pak, Punjabi Gangster-Backed Terrorists Plotting '26-26' R-Day Strike: Sources

Security forces in Delhi were put on high alert Wednesday after intelligence warned of a co-ordinated terrorist attack on or before Republic Day, i.e., January 26, and code-named 26-26.

The terrorists, security forces were told, could target the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and the Raghunath Temple in Jammu, as well as other temples and cities, sources told NDTV.

Sources said the attack is being planned by the Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan's military intel agency, via the Jaish-e-Mohammed and with aid from Punjab-based gangsters. The Jaish was responsible for the car bomb outside the Red Fort in November that killed 15 people.

Ahead of the celebrations security agencies have put up posters of wanted individuals across Delhi and the national capital region, specifically at entry/exit points like bus and train stations.

Among these is Mohd Rehan from Delhi's Chauhan Banger who went underground in 2016, shortly after an Al Qaeda module in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal was busted. Others on the list include Mohd Umar, Abu Sufiyan, Mohd Shahid Faisal, Syed Arshiya, and Sharjeel Akhtar.

Security agencies were already on alert – as is protocol every year in the build-up to Republic Day celebrations – and stepped up threat-monitoring after intelligence warned of attacks by Khalistani terrorist organisations, with criminal elements from Punjab acting as 'foot soldiers'.

The latest reports have underlined the high threat levels at this time, pointing also to statements made by the 'Falcon Squad', a terrorist unit linked to the Kashmir-based Resistance Front, which itself is seen as an offshoot of another Pakistan-based terror group, the Lashkar-e-Taiba.

The Lashkar offshoot, which emerged of Kashmir's special status was scrapped in 2019, was responsible for the attack in Pahalgam in April last year, in which 26 people, mostly civilians, were gunned down. The attack prompted a military response – Operation Sindoor – from India.

Last week the LeT reiterated its commitment to violence in Jammu and Kashmir, with its senior commander openly making a hate speech to incite violence against the Hindu community. A video of Abu Musa Kashmiri at an event in Pak-occupied Kashmir emerged on social media, in which he can be heard declaring, "Freedom will be achieved by slitting the throats of Hindus."

Intelligence agencies told NDTV Kashmiri made similar remarks before the Pahalgam attack, meaning this video was viewed as a possible signalling of a larger terrorist conspiracy.