Srinagar (The Hawk): Security agencies have discovered that Mukhtar Baba, a former Kashmiri journalist, is responsible for the recent terrorist threats against local journalists.
Security agencies discovered that former journalist, Mukhtar Baba is the mastermind behind putting out the list of journalists accusing them of being informers for the security forces after resignations by five Kashmiri journalists over the anonymous online threats to over a dozen of them.
Following the release of the list of more than a dozen Kashmiri journalists who were allegedly working for the security forces or intelligence agencies, the J&K police filed a FIR under the UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) and investigations were started.
According to police sources, intelligence analysis based on inputs from Central Intelligence Agencies suggests that Mukhtar Baba frequently travels to Pakistan from Turkey and is responsible for spreading false information and preparing young people in the Valley for terrorism under the guise of The Resistance Front (TRF), a Lashkar-e-Taiba offshoot (LeT).
"Sajjad Gul, a native of Srinagar, is one of the TRF's key operatives and is involved in making threats. Six people who are in touch with Baba and giving him information have been identified by the agency.
"On the basis of impartial evidence, the agencies have identified more than six people, including four journalists and two government workers. In order to provide an effective response to the challenge, they have suggested a mission-based approach to identify these elements, collect evidence by mapping their properties, their use of telecommunications, and their travel both domestically and abroad, according to sources.
Before fleeing to Turkey, Mukhtar Baba, who was formerly a resident of Srinagar's central business district, moved to the Nowgam neighbourhood. His network of insider informants includes journalists, and it is on their advice that he compiled the most recent threat list.
He continued to be associated with the terrorist group Hizbullah in the 1990s, but was expelled from the group when it was discovered that he had been involved in the sale of AK-47 rifles to a rival terrorist group.
The intelligence agencies' dossier on Mukhtar Baba states, "Thereafter, he remained associated with Masrat Alam's Muslim League and is notorious for his coercive means to compel journalists and media outlets in the Valley to toe Pakistani and terrorist line in reporting and opinions.
According to sources, he has always maintained ties to Pakistani intelligence services while participating in a number of secessionist organisations in Srinagar. Additionally active on social media, Baba has made a concerted effort to advance the narrative at the urging of adversarial foreign agencies.
Mukhtar Baba, 55, is well-versed in Kashmir's media landscape having previously worked as a journalist for four Valley-based media outlets. He spent a significant amount of time in 1990 incarcerated in Jammu's Kot Bhalwal Jail.
According to sources, Mukhtar Baba was sent to Turkey at some point in 2018 by Jodha Carin Fischer, an American with German ancestry who worked as a deep penetration ISI agent in Jammu and Kashmir for almost eight years before her cover was blown and she was forcibly deported out.
On November 12, the Srinagar Police announced the filing of a case against the handlers, active terrorists, and on-the-ground workers (OGWs) of the terrorist group LeT and its offshoot TRF for the online publication and distribution of a letter making direct threats against Kashmir-based journalists and reporters. The FIR was filed at Shergari Police Station under sections 13 of the UAPA and 505, 153B, 124A, and 506 of the IPC.
(Inputs from Agencies)