When Pakistani militant Sajjad Ahmad was captured alive in August, it was his ‘smart’ gear more than the tactics he used that caught the attention of the security forces.
He did not have the usual satellite phones and radio communication devices that marked infiltrators from across the border in the past. He was equipped with smartphones loaded with software that mimic popular social media and make the user difficult to track.
Ahmad exemplifies the increasingly sophisticated militant that the Indian Army is battling in Kashmir. Such operatives, indoctrinated and trained by Pakistan, are now using high-end technology including selfdestructing software, encrypted messaging and tailor-made video calling applications.
The use of high-quality night vision devices recently acquired by militants, for instance, has caused at least two casualties of Army personnel in northern Kashmir in the past one month, army officials said. In the initial stages of insurgency, radio was the primary means of communication among militants, while satellite phones came into use after 2009.
But now militant groups are equipping their cadres with smartphones that have tailor-made applications and are run on Indian and Pakistani mobile networks. “There has been a marked shift from satphones to smartphones,” said a senior official. As mobile networks have reached the remotest corners of Kashmir and towers are mushrooming across the valley, terrorists are increasingly using smartphones, he said.
The smartphones used by militants have been found equipped with software named after and similar in function to commercially available mobile apps such as WhatsApp, Viber and Skype. These have been imitated and programmed to serve only internal communication. “All these applications are voice over internet protocol and the encryption is end-to-end. This means that it is difficult to intercept a message midway,” ” the official said.
Counter-insurgency expert at Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses retired Colonel Vivek Chadha said, “There is a state apparatus that is behind them which will ensure that there is improvement in technological capabilities of terrorists to ensure they remain ahead of the Army.”
A senior Army official said, “We have the skills and we try to remain one step ahead.” He said further, “We are closely monitoring the methods being adopted by terrorists.”
Terrorists now equipped with high-end technology like self-destructing software, encrypted messaging add to army’s problems in Jammu & Kashmir.
