The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) said it has arrested three “terrorists”, including two Pakistani nationals, from the Sonauli border between Nepal and India. The agency said it had received information that the arrested persons harboured intentions to carry out terrorist activities in the country.
The two Pakistani nationals used fabricated documents to pass off as Indian nationals and entered illegally through Nepal, it said. One of the arrested persons, Altaf Bhat, originally a Kashmiri, had crossed over to Pakistan after the Kargil war and received training from Hizbul Mujahideen with the help of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), according to the agency. It said Bhat revealed on interrogation that the ISI, along with Hizbul Mujahideen in Kashmir, was onboarding Indians with a mission to spread terrorism in the country.
The third person, Nasir Ali, an Indian Kashmiri, was directed by the ISI to take the other two to Kashmir from Kathmandu, the ATS said.
