Now Reading: India says 253 held in terror swoop, Pakistan rejects ISI link
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India says 253 held in terror swoop, Pakistan rejects ISI link
Indian security agencies arrested over 200 operatives of the Pakistan-based Shahzad Bhatti Network in a multi-state operation ahead of Independence Day, the Ministry of Home Affairs said. Home Minister Amit Shah confirmed 253 detentions across 14 states and recoveries including IEDs, grenades marked with Pakistan Ordnance Factory logos, pistols, and CCTV cameras. The network is suspected of involvement in grenade attacks, targeted killings, and reconnaissance of sensitive sites across India.
Pakistan rejected the allegations as baseless on Monday. Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi accused India of using the assertions to divert attention from its domestic security challenges. The National Investigation Agency is probing several cases linked to Bhatti, including a 2025 grenade attack at a social media influencer's home in Punjab and an explosion at a women's police station in Haryana. Bhatti was chargesheeted as an absconder in April 2026.
The single-day operation on August 12, coordinated through a real-time intelligence-sharing system with state police, led to fresh FIRs in Delhi and Karnataka. Uttar Pradesh recorded the most detentions at 62, followed by Haryana (52) and Delhi (51).
Indian Opinion Analysis
The coverage splits along familiar lines. Odishatv.in leads with the government's 'zero tolerance' framing and reproduces Home Minister Amit Shah's full social-media post verbatim, treating the official account as the story. The Hindu and Deccan Herald both report the security operation but also carry Pakistan's categorical rejection of the allegations, framing the development as a diplomatic clash rather than a unilateral success. Neither outlet in the latter pair gives space to the government's 'zero tolerance' rhetoric, instead, The Hindu adds context by naming specific NIA cases (Roger Sandhu attack, Haryana police-station blast) that the official statement omits. The measured takeaway: a major multi-state dragnet did occur and did produce 253 detentions and seizures, but the evidentiary link to the ISI remains India's assertion, flatly denied by Islamabad. The next concrete date to watch is a judicial hearing on the NIA chargesheets filed in the linked cases.
Coverage: 3 sources, 1 pro-government, 2 neutral
Sources (3): odishatv.in (pro government), thehindu.com (neutral report), deccanherald.com (neutral report)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above. Methodology and corrections.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.
