Pakistan rejects India’s allegations that it is linked to a criminal or militant network operating inside the country, Pakistani state media reported on Monday, citing a senior official. The statement came in response to remarks by India’s Home Minister Amit Shah, who said Indian security agencies had arrested more than 200 alleged operatives connected to Pakistan in one of the largest crackdowns of its kind in recent years.
India’s Allegations and the Crackdown
According to Shah, Indian security forces dismantled a group he identified as the Shahzad Bhatti Network, describing it as a Pakistan based terror syndicate allegedly funded and directed by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency, commonly known as the ISI. Shah said the coordinated operation was carried out across 14 Indian states on August 12, three days before India marked its 80th year of independence.
In a statement posted on social media, Shah said the operations thwarted the network’s plans for what he called subversive attacks timed around Independence Day. He described the effort as reflecting India’s zero tolerance policy toward terrorism. According to Indian officials, security agencies recovered improvised explosive devices, grenades bearing markings from the Pakistan Ordnance Factory, pistols, live ammunition and CCTV cameras allegedly used for surveillance and espionage purposes.
Indian authorities have further alleged that the network was involved in a series of attacks across the country, including grenade, IED and petrol bomb incidents, along with targeted killings, and that it paid local individuals to conduct reconnaissance on police, defence and religious sites.
Pakistan’s Response
Pakistan’s foreign minister had not issued a formal response to Shah’s statement at the time Pakistani state media reported the story. However, a senior Pakistani official, speaking on condition of anonymity, characterised the Indian allegations as an attempt to draw public attention away from what the official described as internal issues and external setbacks facing New Delhi.
The official was quoted by the state run Pakistan Television broadcaster as saying that Pakistan would not lend credibility to what was termed an unverified Indian media story by commenting on its specific details. The statement effectively declined to engage with the individual claims made by Indian officials while broadly rejecting any Pakistani connection to the alleged network.
A Recurring Pattern in Bilateral Relations
Pakistan rejects India’s allegations of this kind on a recurring basis, reflecting a longstanding pattern in relations between the two nuclear armed neighbours, each of which routinely accuses the other of fostering or abetting militant activity on its soil. Such exchanges have become a familiar feature of the relationship, particularly around politically significant dates and following major security incidents in either country.
The latest dispute follows a four day military conflict between the two countries last year, which began after India blamed Pakistani attackers for the killing of 26 people at a tourist site in Indian administered Kashmir. Islamabad denied any involvement in that incident at the time and called for a credible international investigation into the allegations, a position consistent with its response to the current claims involving the Shahzad Bhatti Network.
With Pakistan’s foreign ministry yet to issue a formal statement and Indian authorities continuing to publicise details of the alleged network and its activities, the disagreement is likely to remain a point of friction between the two governments in the near term, adding to the broader pattern of mutual accusations that has long characterised their security relationship.
Published in SouthAsianDesk, August 18th, 2026
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