Alleged ISI agent Irshad Ahmed held in Pathankot on tip off by intelligence agencies

NEW DELHI: An Indian national identified as Irshad Ahmed has been arrested in Pathankot by the Punjab Police based on a tip off provided by India's intelligence agencies. Irshad, an alleged ISI agent had managed to find an under cover job inside Pathankot Cantonment, said officials.

Irshad had taken up a job as a labourer inside Mamoon Cantt in Pathankot. Intelligence agencies have recovered several photos of sensitive installations from his smart phone. Pathankot Cantt is one of the biggest and sensitive military bases of the Indian army. A division of the Indian army is based there, which includes infantry battalions and cavalry.

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Investigating agencies are now probing where Irshad would get his instructions from. This arrest is being considered a big catch for India's intelligence agencies as it shows that Pathankot is still on the terror radar despite the recent attack at the Pathankot air base. Most often, the ISI tends to look for a new target after attacking one, because the level of guard is raised in the place that has been attacked.

Irshad was tasked to collect photographs of all sensitive installations and equipment inside the Cantt and was sending them to his Indian handler, Sajjad, in Jammu. Sajjad was recently arrested in Jammu in a pending Arms Act case.

He will now be questioned on the basis of revelations by Irshad that he was his handler and used to pass on the photographs to his Pak handlers through email and secure chat messaging services.

Close watch and full alert is being maintained for any other espionage agents in the area.