Thread by @_AhmedQuraishi

PM @CMShehbaz congratulations #Pakistan's spy chief for success in #ISI's "most complex intelligence operation" in intelligence service's recent history.

What did the ISI exactly do? Some details are listed in this #thread. /1

https://twitter.com/CMShehbaz/status/1660993923517390850

#Pakistan's premier spy agency, the #ISI captured wanted #Balochistan terrorism commander Gulzar Imam Shambay in a sophisticated intelligence operation that spanned more than a year and involved cooperation from eleven spy agencies in eleven states. /2

Commander Gulzar Imam Shambay's brother was a suicide bomber in a spectacular attack on two #Pakistan Army bases in #Balochistan in Feb 2022, where terrorists used explosions followed by incursions aiming to taking hostages to create a media spectacle. /3

voanews.com/a/pakistan-mil…

Unclear where Gulzar Imam Shambay was captured by agents of #Pakistan's spy agency the #ISI. An official statement in April 2023 did not mention whereabouts of the op that nabbed GIS. But multiple reports suggest Shambay lived in a safe house in #Iran. /4

dawn.com/news/1746414

Gulzar Imam Shambay, also known as GIS, led the Baloch Nationalist Army #BNA, a terrorist group responsible for attacks in #Balochistan Province of #Pakistan. GIS hid in #Iran and traveled to #Afghanistan. He was busted in a classical intelligence operation by #ISI agency. /5

Agents of the Pakistani spy agency #ISI inserted moles into several militant and terrorist groups in the #Iran-#Afghanistan-#Pakistan region to finally apprehend #BNA commander Gulzar Imam Shambay, using digital technology to crack secure networks uses by hostile actors. /6

#Pakistan's intelligence operatives penetrated a secure digital space that Baloch Nationalist Army #BNA used. This gave #ISI agents a unique opportunity to identify and access high-value assets and abettors that BNA and Gulzar Imam Shambay used to mount operations. /7

#Pakistan's #ISI spy service moved to deploy on the ground trained intelligence operators in several countries to verify the digital information. Once Gulzar Imam Shambay's identity was confirmed, ISI agents approached him as undercover reps of his assets in #Pakistan. /8

Undercover agents of #ISI, acting as representatives of the assets of #BNA and Gulzar Imam Shambay inside #Pakistan, launched a process of building trust and rapport with GIS, luring him through offers of money and technical assistance. /9

Agents of #Pakistan's #ISI ran a complex operation to lure Gulzar Imam Shambay out of his alleged hiding place (#Iran). To win GIS's trust, agents delivered untraceable money, create verifiable fictitious identities, untraceable ID docs, & route money without getting caught. /10

In his hiding place, #Balochistan terror commander Gulzar Imam Shambay allegedly used 1400 fake docs and services of 66 institutions and companies in 11 countries to conceal his identity. The yearlong operation climaxed in 12 hours, when he was finally in #Pakistan's hands. /11

The international operation that #Pakistan's #ISI launched over 11 territories to capture wanted #Balochistan terror commander lasted 393 days. Agents claim 21,000 hours of work on the case, and are grateful to partners from 11 foreign spy agencies for help. /12

The above #thread into a spectacular operation conducted by #Pakistan's spy agency the #ISI across international jurisdictions is based on reporting from multiple sources in April and May 2023, including sources in #Pakistan, #Turkey, #Gulf, and #Afghanistan. /13

@threadreaderapp unroll