There are between 30 and 40 trainees at Lashkar-e-Taiba training camps managed by army officers in plain clothes along the border, captured Pakistani terrorist Bahadur Ali has disclosed, the National Investigation Agency said on Wednesday. Ali, who is in the central agency's custody, entered India on June 11 or 12 along with two other Lashkar members, reported ANI.

At a press conference on Wednesday, the agency's Inspector General Sanjeev Kumar said Ali told his interrogators that the training camps have men from different countries, including Afghanistan. He was arrested from Jammu and Kashmir on July 25.

Advertisement

Ali reportedly said that he was asked to "take advantage of the ongoing agitation in Kashmir and mix with the crowds and throw grenades at the security forces and police", according to The Indian Express. He was trained in Pakistan and then infiltrated India.

"At the detachment point before the infiltration, they were repeatedly shown videos of [Lashkar-e-Toiba chief] Hafiz Saeed in which he gave taqreers on the importance of waging jihad and attaining shahadat [martyrdom]," the newspaper reported, quoting a source. In India, Ali had changed locations frequently, and was constantly in touch with his handlers.

Following the revelations, India issued Pakistan a strong demarche on Tuesday. Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit to hand over the document that reportedly expressed New Delhi's displeasure regarding the development.

The demarche, issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, said, "Bahadur Ali has confessed to our authorities that after training in Lashkar-e-Toiba camps, he was infiltrated into India. He was thereafter in touch with an ‘operations room’ of LeT, receiving instructions to attack Indian security personnel and carry out other terrorist attacks in India."