Intelligence Inputs Flag ISI Plan for Petrol Bomb Attacks in Punjab Ahead of Independence Day

Intelligence inputs have flagged a sharp escalation in Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)-driven strategy in Punjab, with petrol bombs emerging as a key new weapon in planned attacks timed for Independence Day 2026 and the weeks leading up to it, officials said.

These devices, described as low-grade and easy to fabricate but highly effective for spreading terror, form part of an expanded arsenal that also includes remote-controlled RDX-based improvised explosive devices (IEDs), traditional RDX tiffin bombs, hand grenades, automatic weapons, and small firearms.

In the early hours of July 25-26, two miscreants hurled petrol bombs at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) district office in Sangrur. One bottle struck the outer wall near the kitchen area, causing burn marks and a low-intensity fire, while a second fell outside. Punjab Police officials said the attack was carried out on the instructions of Pakistan-based gangster Shehzad Bhatti, acting on the orders of the ISI.

The assessments, drawn from recently busted terror modules, tech-based espionage cases, and cross-border recoveries of weapons and narcotics, point to a recalibrated multi-pronged approach intensified after Operation Sindoor in May 2025. The aim remains to destabilise law and order and communal harmony in the state.

Pro-Khalistan terrorist nodes, mainly Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), as well as transnational organised criminal networks operating from Germany, France, Portugal, the UK, Canada, the US, Malaysia and elsewhere, are expected to receive large consignments of militant hardware for these operations. The ISI is also preparing direct strikes through its own operatives disguised under pseudo pro-Khalistani entities to ensure deniability.

Senior Punjab Police officials said targets have widened beyond police, Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), and defence establishments, serving and retired Punjab Police personnel linked to counter-terror work, and right-wing party offices and leaders. Plans now include random attacks on police personnel, railway and other critical infrastructure in Punjab, and locations with high public footfall.

In 2026 alone, till July 27, Punjab Police has busted 10 terror modules through intelligence-led operations, arresting 137 persons. Recoveries include 7 automatic rifles, 76 revolvers or pistols, 12 RDX-based prefabricated IEDs, 3.756 kg of RDX, 9 detonators, 49 hand grenades, 1 rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) with launcher, and 7 walkie-talkie sets. Six cases of tech-based espionage involving solar-powered CCTV cameras relaying live feeds to Pakistan have also been neutralised, while 183 drones have been recovered.

These successes mirror a series of recent foiled plots. On July 26, Counter Intelligence Jalandhar and Jalandhar Rural Police busted an ISI-sponsored BKI module, arresting key operative Satbir Singh of Padiana village, Adampur, and seizing a 1.3 kg IED packed with high explosives, shrapnel and ball bearings meant for a high-impact strike. An FIR was registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Explosive Substances Act and Arms Act; investigations into foreign handlers and local networks continue.

Earlier in July, police dismantled another network linked to a suspected IED plot on the Ferozepur-Jammu train, arresting 17 people with a UK-based handler under scrutiny; recoveries included an IED and a pistol. Multiple other 2026 operations across the state have yielded additional remote-controlled RDX devices, grenades, pistols, an RPG, explosives and overseas handler links, underscoring the persistent drone-enabled push from across the border.

"Security agencies remain on high alert. Punjab Police has reiterated its commitment to dismantling terror networks, curbing organised crime and safeguarding peace across the state in the run-up to August 15. We will defeat the nefarious designs of Pakistan's ISI to foment trouble in Punjab," said a senior police officer.