Is Pak using new names to play old games in J&K?

Reports suggest that with the pressure mounting on Pakistan to get out of the tainted list, it has instructed terror groups operating in the Valley to not claim attacks.

New Delhi, July 13: In yet another case of targeted attacks one policeman was killed and two were injured in Srinagar after terrorists opened fire on them. A few hours after the attack the Islamic State's propaganda wing, Amaq released a video of the shooting and claimed that the Islamic State Hind had carried out this attack.

The video shows a police party coming under attack by terrorists. The video, however, is not clear about how many terrorists were involved in the attack. The video shows terrorists firing at a police party amidst chants of 'Allahu Akbar'.

The police following the incident said that terrorists fired upon a police party at Lal Bazar area of Srinagar city leaving three cops injured. In the incident, three police personnel were injured and they have been shifted to a hospital for treatment, a police spokesperson said.

Intelligence Bureau officials that OneIndia spoke with say that it is yet to be ascertained if the attack was the handiwork of the Islamic State. The outfit has not been able to get the desired traction in Jammu and Kashmir and has for long been issuing statements. The video that was released by the group is under verification.

An official whom OneIndia spoke with said that this could well be another case of a derivative. Pakistan has struggled to get itself out of the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) Grey List. With the pressure mounting on Pakistan to get out of the tainted list, it has instructed its terror groups operating in Jammu and Kashmir to not claim attacks in its name.

Pakistan in particular would shield outfits such as the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen which operate actively in the Valley. For instance Pakistan has come up with names such as The Resistence Front or the Lashkar-e-Khalsa and Lashkar-e-Islam. These are just names, but in reality it is the main groups that are operating in the Valley.

Intelligence agencies have learnt that these are deliberate tactics adopted by Rawalpindi to divert attention. An officer says that if one has noticed that groups such as the Lashkar-e-Tayiba or the Jaish-e-Mohammad have not claimed responsibility for any of the recent attacks in J&K.

The official further adds that the attack in Srinagar claimed by the Islamic State could also be another attempt by Pakistan to divert attention from its proxies and still keep the Valley boiling.

Taking into consideration the new tactic by Pakistan, Union Home Minister, Amit Shah recently directed the Jammu and Kashmir police as well as the security agencies to refrain from using names of new terror groups in the Union Territory. The are only derivatives of Pakistan based globally proscribed groups created by the ISI to spread the narrative of home grown terror in the Valley.

The directive came after intelligence inputs suggested that the Pakistan groups such as the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad-Mohammad have not been taking credit for the attacks as they are under pressure from the FATF.

This is one of the main reasons why the main groups which continue to operate in the Valley have not claimed responsibility for the attacks.