The Lashkar-e-Tayiba may have gone quiet for sometime now, but Indian Intelligence agencies say that this is just part of the strategy which they are adopting to regroup. A few months back a top ranking official of the US military had warned that they had specific inputs that the Lashkar was setting up a base in Sri Lanka in a bid to take control over the South Asian nations.
Confirming this development,Indian Intelligence agencies told rediff.com that there has been a very slow build up of Lashkar forces in Sri Lanka and this is a worrying factor for India.
Latest inputs go on to suggest that there has been a mix of old and new recruits in the Sri Lanka operations and the fall of the LTTE has led them to slowly set up base in this nation. Today the Lashkar boasts of around 100 cadres for the Sri Lanka operations. The foot soldiers have not been sent in as yet, but the men who exist on the ground in this country are planners and those who can set up cells and modules to carry pave the way for future attacks.
The IB says that the Lashkar may take over two years at least before it is fully functional in this country. Inputs picked up show that the new recruits who walk into Pakistan are first sucked in by the Lashkar and the latest rounds of recruitments are taking place for the Sri Lanka operation.
There was an understanding between the Lashkar and the LTTE when the latter was dominant in Sri Lanka. The Lashkar deliberately did not make an entry into this country at that point of time. However now with the LTTE gone, the Lashkar has seized this opportunity to make a foot hold in Sri Lanka and so far have successfully achieved their target.
As part of the plan, they are relying very heavily on some old timers of the LTTE who have been forced to drop arms after their outfit was wiped out. From these persons they get help pertaining to logistics which would help them set up cells and modules in that country.
The IB say that the Lashkar entering into Sri Lanka is more much of a worry for that nation since the obvious target is India. If they manage to successfully set up a strong base then India is covered with this dreaded outfit. They are following a similar module like they did in Bangladesh, Nepal and Maldives.
The ISI has been specifically helping this group set up bases all around India since they would have a better choice in carrying out attacks. Moreover it becomes a nuisance for security agencies since there is no one route from which they would enter. Earlier it was only the Kashmir route through which Lashkar militants penetrated into the country. Today they have forces in Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and of course Pakistan.
The Sri Lanka module is expected to focus more on the Southern part of India.
The United States of America has expressed fears over this new development and says that it needs to work closely with India to wade away this threat. Indian Intelligence agencies too are sharing intel with the US based agencies since this is considered to be a huge development which not only threatens India, but other South Asian nations.
According to Indian agencies, the agencies in Sri Lanka too have expressed concerns over this development and would seeking help of their counterparts in India to fight the Lashkar. They too have full realization that if the Lashkar is allowed to grow, they it could turn into a full fledged menace for their country too which will always be on the radar of these terrorist groups.
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