Editing Research and Analysis Wing (section)

====Pakistan====
During the late 1960s, R&AW had infiltrated the highest levels of Pakistani military and political leadership. It even had a [[Mole (espionage)|Mole]] inside General [[Yahya Khan]]'s Office. This mole had also alerted the Indian armed forces, a week before about impending Pakistani Air attack. This alert was correct as Pakistan attacked India on December 3, thus starting [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971|the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://m.bdnews24.com/amp/en/detail/bangladesh/147067|title=Mole and careless Pak army ensured early victory in 1971'|access-date=6 August 2007|publisher=BDnews24|archive-date=23 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200623015341/https://m.bdnews24.com/amp/en/detail/bangladesh/147067|url-status=live}}</ref>

R&AW's most successful spy [[Ravindra Kaushik]] spied in Pakistan in the 1970s. He was from Rajasthan's [[Sri Ganganagar]], Kaushik was a student and an aspiring actor, he used to do acting on stage. He was acting in a patriotic play in a theatre in Lucknow when R&AW recruiter spotted this young boy. He joined R&AW in 1975 at the age of 23. They trained him, made a disguise identity and sent to Pakistan. He did an LLB in [[Karachi university]] and joined the Pakistani army, eventually he was promoted to the rank of major. Amid 1979-83 he passed valuable information to R&AW. Due to his feats the then Indian prime minister [[Indira Gandhi]] gave him title of "The Black Tiger".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Story of R&AW agent, Ravinder Kaushik, who worked as a Pakistan Army Major - Forgotten hero |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/story-of-raw-agent-ravinder-kaushik-who-worked-as-a-pakistan-army-major/new-identity-in-pak/slideshow/58240717.cms |access-date=2023-01-25 |website=The Economic Times |archive-date=25 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125093651/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/story-of-raw-agent-ravinder-kaushik-who-worked-as-a-pakistan-army-major/new-identity-in-pak/slideshow/58240717.cms |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Paul |first=Aditya |date=10 August 2022 |title=... Remembering Ravindra Kaushik's... |url=https://www.timesnownews.com/mirror-now/in-focus/indias-soldiers-in-shadows-remembering-ravindra-kaushiks-supreme-sacrifice-for-nation-all-you-need-to-know-about-black-tiger-article-93461316/amp |access-date=25 January 2023 |website=[[Times Now]] |archive-date=25 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125095323/https://www.timesnownews.com/mirror-now/in-focus/indias-soldiers-in-shadows-remembering-ravindra-kaushiks-supreme-sacrifice-for-nation-all-you-need-to-know-about-black-tiger-article-93461316/amp |url-status=live }}</ref>

Kahuta is the site of the Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), Pakistan's main nuclear weapons laboratory as well as an emerging centre for long-range missile development. The primary Pakistani missile-material production facility is located at [[Kahuta]], employing gas centrifuge enrichment technology to produce Highly Enriched [[Uranium]] (HEU). R&AW first confirmed Pakistan's nuclear programs by analysing the hair samples snatched from the floor of barber shops near KRL; which showed that Pakistan had developed the ability to enrich uranium to weapons-grade quality. R&AW operatives knew about [[Kahuta Research Laboratories]] from at least early 1978,<ref>{{cite book|author=Robert Hutchinson|title=Weapons of Mass Destruction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tluk-CiKERwC&pg=PT136|year=2003|publisher=Orion|isbn=978-1-78022-377-3|page=136|quote=In a stunning intelligence coup, India apparently first learned of Pakistan's programmed by analyzing the hair samples snatched from the floor of barber shops near the Pakistani nuclear research facility at Kahuta. India's external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing, sent the samples to New Delhi's BHABHA Atomic Research Center, which discovered clear indications from analysis of the hair, that Pakistan had developed the ability to enrich uranium to weapons-grade quality}}</ref> when the then Indian Prime Minister, [[Morarji Desai]], accidentally exposed R&AW's operations on [[Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction|Pakistan's covert nuclear weapons program]]. In an indiscreet moment in a telephone conversation one day, Morarji Desai informed the then Pakistan President, [[Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq|Zia-ul-Haq]], that India was aware of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program. According to later reports, acting on this "tip-off", Pakistan's ISI and army eliminated most of R&AW's assets in and around Kahuta.<ref name="Federation of American Scientists"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/sep/08spec.htm |title=RAW & MOSSAD: The Secret Link |work=Rediff.com |date=8 September 2003 |access-date=28 September 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090912075501/http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/sep/08spec.htm |archive-date=12 September 2009 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>According to 18–24 September 1988 issue of the weekly Indian Magazine Sunday</ref>

R&AW received information from one of its informants in a London-based company, which had supplied Arctic-weather gear to Indian troops in [[Ladakh]] that some Pakistan paramilitary forces had bought similar Arctic-weather gear.<ref name="time">{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501050711/story2.html |magazine=Time |title=War at the Top of the World |date=7 November 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414200007/http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501050711/story2.html |archive-date=14 April 2010 |df=dmy }}</ref> This information was shared with Indian Army which soon launched [[Operation Meghdoot]] to take control of Siachen Glacier with around 300<ref name="time"/> acclimatised troops were airlifted to Siachen before Pakistan could launch any operation resulting in Indian head start and eventual Indian domination of all major peaks in Siachen.<ref name="time"/>

In the mid-1980s, R&AW set up two special units, ''Counterintelligence Team-X(CIT-X)'' and ''Counterintelligence Team-J(CIT-J)'', the first directed at [[Pakistan]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsline.com.pk/NewsJul2007/bookmarkjuly.htm |title=The 'Jihad' Against India |publisher=Newsline.com.pk |access-date=28 September 2009| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071202125431/http://www.newsline.com.pk/NewsJul2007/bookmarkjuly.htm| archive-date = 2 December 2007}}</ref> and the second at [[Khalistan]]i groups.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.firstpost.com/india/sarabjit-singh-and-the-spies-india-left-out-in-the-cold-734703.html|title=Sarabjit Singh, and the spies India left out in the cold|author=Praveen Swami|date=28 April 2013|work=First Post|access-date=28 April 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130531231211/http://www.firstpost.com/india/sarabjit-singh-and-the-spies-we-left-out-in-the-cold-734703.html|archive-date=31 May 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> [[Rabinder Singh (intelligence officer)|Rabinder Singh]], the R&AW officer who later [[defection|defected]] to the United States in 2004, helped run CIT-J in its early years. Both these covert units used the services of cross-border traffickers to ferry weapons and funds across the border, much as their [[Inter-Services Intelligence|ISI]] counterparts were doing. According to former R&AW official and noted security analyst B. Raman, the Indian counter-campaign yielded results. "The role of our cover action capability in putting an end to the ISI's interference and support of khalistani militants in Punjab, thus completely stopping years of violence and insurgency", he wrote in 2002, "by making such interference prohibitively costly is little known and understood." These covert groups were disbanded during the tenure of [[IK Gujral]] and were never restarted.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2219/stories/20050923004503000.htm |title=Covert contestation |publisher=Hinduonnet.com |date=12 March 1972 |access-date=28 September 2009 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100110212607/http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2219/stories/20050923004503000.htm |archive-date=10 January 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> As per [[Bahukutumbi Raman|B Raman]] a former R&AW [[Additional Secretary to Government of India|Additional Secretary]], these covert groups were successful in keeping a check on [[Inter-Services Intelligence|ISI]] and were "responsible for ending the Khalistani insurgency".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2219/stories/20050923004503000.htm|title=Covert contestation|publisher=hinduonnet.com|access-date=25 March 2016|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100811061637/http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2219/stories/20050923004503000.htm|archive-date=11 August 2010|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?264366|title=Under Cover of Deniability|work=News report|access-date=25 March 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502201825/http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?264366|archive-date=2 May 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

During the mid-1990s, R&AW undertook an operation to infiltrate various [[Inter-Services Intelligence|ISI]]-backed militant groups in [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]]. R&AW operatives infiltrated the area, collected military intelligence, and provided evidence about [[Inter-Services Intelligence|ISI]]'s involvement in training and funding separatist groups. R&AW was successful not only in unearthing the links, but also in infiltrating and neutralising the terrorism in the Kashmir valley.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/kashmir/Story/0,2763,722049,00.html|title=Dangerous game of state-sponsored terror that threatens nuclear conflict|access-date=5 May 2006|first=Rory|last=McCarthy|work=The Guardian|location=London|date=25 May 2002|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814175215/https://www.theguardian.com/kashmir/Story/0,2763,722049,00.html|archive-date=14 August 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/irp/world/pakistan/isi/ |title=Directorate for ISI article on FAS, Intelligence Resource Program |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611053322/https://fas.org/irp/world/pakistan/isi/ |archive-date=11 June 2014 |df=dmy }}</ref> It is also credited for creating a split in the [[Hizb-ul-Mujahideen]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kashmirtelegraph.com/raw.htm |title=R A W: Kashmir & Beyond|work=The Kashmir Telegraph |access-date=28 September 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202033300/http://www.kashmirtelegraph.com/raw.htm |archive-date=2 December 2008 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Operation Chanakya also marked the creation of pro-Indian groups in Kashmir like the Ikhwan-ul-Muslimeen, Muslim Mujahideen etc. These [[counterinsurgency|counter-insurgencies]] consist of ex-militants and relatives of those slain in the conflict. Ikhwan-ul-Muslimeen leader Kokka Parrey was himself assassinated by separatists.<ref name="FAsummary"/>

During the [[Kargil War]], R&AW was also successful in intercepting a telephonic conversation between [[Pervez Musharraf]], the then Pakistan Army Chief who was in Beijing and his chief of staff Lt. Gen. Mohammed Aziz in [[Islamabad]].<ref name="india-seminar.com">{{cite web |author=Subir Bhaumik |url=http://www.india-seminar.com/2005/550/550%20subir%20bhaumik.htm |title=550, Subir Bhaumik, Guns, drugs and rebels |publisher=India-seminar.com |access-date=28 September 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090923193152/http://www.india-seminar.com/2005/550/550%20subir%20bhaumik.htm |archive-date=23 September 2009 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> This tape was later published by India to prove Pakistani involvement in the Kargil incursion.<ref name="india-seminar.com"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://us.rediff.com/news/2005/feb/02spec3.htm |title=A RAW hand: Rediff.com news |work=Rediff.com |access-date=28 September 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100315153842/http://us.rediff.com/news/2005/feb/02spec3.htm |archive-date=15 March 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

In 2004, it had come to light that a timely tip-off by R&AW helped foil a third assassination plot against Pakistan's former president, General [[Pervez Musharraf]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-raw-intelligence-saved-prez-musharraf-s-life-in-2004-2101535|title=R&AW intelligence saved Prez Musharraf's life in 2004|date=4 July 2015|publisher=DNA|access-date=10 October 2023|archive-date=4 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004142601/https://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-raw-intelligence-saved-prez-musharraf-s-life-in-2004-2101535|url-status=live}}</ref>

About 2–6 months before [[26/11 Mumbai attacks]], R&AW had intercepted several telephone calls through SIGINT which pointed at impending attacks on Mumbai Hotels by Pakistan-based terrorists,<ref>[http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/57012.html India's lack of preparedness raised Mumbai death toll] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090414152741/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/57012.html |date=14 April 2009 }}</ref> however there was a coordination failure and no follow up action was taken.<ref>[https://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers/2009/RAND_OP249.pdf Lessons of Mumbai] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004044642/http://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers/2009/RAND_OP249.pdf |date=4 October 2012 }}, Rand Corporation, p19</ref> Few hours before the attacks, a R&AW technician monitoring satellite transmissions picked up conversations between attackers and handlers, as the attackers were sailing toward Mumbai. The technician flagged the conversations as being suspicious and passed them on to his superiors. R&AW believed that they were worrying and immediately alerted the office of the National Security Advisor. However the intelligence was ignored.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.virsanghvi.com/CounterPoint-ArticleDetail.aspx?ID=474|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100427083702/http://www.virsanghvi.com/CounterPoint-ArticleDetail.aspx?ID=474|url-status=dead|title=Virsanghvi.com|archive-date=27 April 2010}}</ref> Later, just after the terrorists had attacked Mumbai, the technicians started monitoring the six phones used by the terrorists and recorded conversations between the terrorists and their handlers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/archive-news/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100426101803/http://www.hindustantimes.com/Why-politicians-won-t-get-off-the-line/H1-Article1-535365.aspx|url-status=dead|title=Hindustan Times - Archive News|archive-date=26 April 2010|website=Hindustan Times}}</ref>

In March 2016, [[Kulbhushan Jadhav]], an Indian naval officer who working as a R&AW agent, was arrested in [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Balochistan]] and charged with espionage and sabotage. He was accused of operating a [[covert]] terror network within Balochistan. In 2017, he was [[sentenced to death]] by a Field General Court Martial in Pakistan.<ref>{{cite news |title=Timeline: How the Kulbhushan Jadhav saga unfolded |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1493236 |work=DAWN |date=17 July 2019 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Who is Kulbhushan Jadhav? |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/who-is-kulbhushan-jadhav-the-hindu-explains/article61594966.ece |work=The Hindu |date=10 April 2017 |language=en-IN |quote=Kulbhushan Jadhav was allegedly arrested in the Chaman area of Balochistan on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on March 3, 2016.  Pakistan said he was a serving Indian naval officer and accused him of working for India's Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW).}}</ref><ref name="Spy">{{cite news |last1=Masood |first1=Salman |last2=Kumar |first2=Hari |title=Pakistan Sentences Indian Spy to Death for Operating Terrorism Ring |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/10/world/asia/pakistan-india-death-sentence-spy-kulbhushan-yadav.html |work=The New York Times |date=10 April 2017}}</ref> While held by Pakistani authorities, Jadhav had confessed in a video recording that he was tasked by R&AW, “to plan and organise espionage and sabotage activities” in Balochistan and [[Karachi]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Transcript of R&AW agent Kulbhushan's confessional statement |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1248786 |work=DAWN.COM |date=30 March 2016 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Spy"/>

During the [[2016 Indian Line of Control strike|2016 Line of Control strike]], R&AW played an important role by providing real time and accurate intelligence to operational advisors and planners. It had deployed its human assets closest to the 8 demarcated launch-pads in Pakistan administered Kashmir. It also started Physical Surveillance of [[Chief of Army Staff (Pakistan)|Chief of Pakistan army]], 10 Corps commander and force commander of Northern Areas.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dailyo.in/lite/politics/surgical-strikes-narendra-modi-indian-army-india-pak-nawaz-sharif-line-of-control-pok-kashmir-baramulla/story/1/13303.html|title=[Exclusive] Inside story of India's daring surgical strikes against Pakistan|access-date=9 October 2016|publisher=DailyO|archive-date=14 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161014232326/http://www.dailyo.in/lite/politics/surgical-strikes-narendra-modi-indian-army-india-pak-nawaz-sharif-line-of-control-pok-kashmir-baramulla/story/1/13303.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

During [[2019 Balakot airstrike]], R&AW played an important role by identifying and providing intelligence on Markaz Syed Ahmad Shaheed training camp, to operational planners. It had [[Human intelligence (intelligence gathering)|HUMINT]] that a large number of terrorists had congregated in the camp.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rediff.com/news/interview/moles-at-terror-camps-sent-info-for-balakot-strike/20191023.htm|title=Moles inside terror camps sent info for Balakot strike|access-date=23 October 2019|work=Rediff.com|archive-date=15 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415024145/https://www.rediff.com/amp/news/interview/moles-at-terror-camps-sent-info-for-balakot-strike/20191023.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/20190325-balakot-airstrikes-pulwama-terror-attack-abhinandan-varthaman-narendra-modi-masood-azhar-1478511-2019-03-15|title=Balakot: How India planned IAF airstrike in Pakistan|date=15 March 2019 |access-date=25 March 2019|publisher=India Today|archive-date=26 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326002024/https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/magazine/cover-story/story/20190325-balakot-airstrikes-pulwama-terror-attack-abhinandan-varthaman-narendra-modi-masood-azhar-1478511-2019-03-15|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 1 March 2022,&nbsp;one of the hijackers of [[Indian Airlines Flight 814|Flight IC 814]] flight, Zahoor Mistry, was killed by two bike-borne assailants in Karachi. It was Mistry who had killed one of the passengers, 25-year-old [[Rupin Katyal]], on the flight. It is widely believed he was assassinated by R&AW.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indianexpress.com/article/india/ic-814-hijacker-zahoor-mistry-killed-in-pakistan-7809422/lite/|title=IC 814 hijacker Zahoor Mistry killed in Pakistan, Masood Azhar's brother attends funeral: Reports|date=9 March 2022|access-date=9 March 2022|publisher=The Indian Express|archive-date=9 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309073322/https://indianexpress.com/article/india/ic-814-hijacker-zahoor-mistry-killed-in-pakistan-7809422/lite/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Ellis-Petersen |first1=Hannah |last2=Hassan |first2=Aakash |last3=Baloch |first3=Shah Meer |date=2024-04-04 |title=Indian government ordered killings in Pakistan, intelligence officials claim |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/04/indian-government-assassination-allegations-pakistan-intelligence-officials |access-date=2024-04-04 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

On 20 February 2023, [[Hizbul Mujahideen|Hizbul]] Commander Bashir Ahmad Peer alias Imtiyaz Alam who was India's most wanted designated terrorist under [[Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act]] was shot dead outside a store by unknown assailants in Rawalpindi. It is widely believed that R&AW was behind this.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wanted In India, Top Hizbul Commander Killed In Pakistan |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/wanted-in-india-top-hizbul-commander-killed-in-pakistan-3802474 |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=NDTV.com |archive-date=21 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621121512/https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/wanted-in-india-top-hizbul-commander-killed-in-pakistan-3802474 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On May 6, 2023, [[Paramjit Singh Panjwar]], the Chief of [[Khalistan Commando Force]] was gunned down by two unidentified bike-borne gunmen in Johar Town of Lahore while he was out for a morning walk near his residence. Most likely it is believed he was assassinated by R&AW operative.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Khalistan Commando Force chief Paramjit Singh Panjwar, wanted by India, gunned down in Pakistan |url=https://www.wionews.com/india-news/paramjit-singh-panjwar-terrorist-wanted-by-india-gunned-down-in-pakistan-report-589648 |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=WION |date=6 May 2023 |language=en-us |archive-date=21 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621123957/https://www.wionews.com/india-news/paramjit-singh-panjwar-terrorist-wanted-by-india-gunned-down-in-pakistan-report-589648 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On April 4, 2024, The Guardian reported that the Indian government had allegedly ordered the killings of individuals in Pakistan. Up to 20 assassinations had taken place since 2020, targeting individuals who were either linked to known terrorist organizations or were former members of these organizations.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Ellis-Petersen |first1=Hannah |last2=Hassan |first2=Aakash |last3=Baloch |first3=Shah Meer |date=2024-04-04 |title=Indian government ordered killings in Pakistan, intelligence officials claim |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/04/indian-government-assassination-allegations-pakistan-intelligence-officials |access-date=2024-05-06 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

On March 16, 2025, Multiple news outlets reported that a top LeT(Lashkar-e-Taiba) commander named Abu Qatal Sindhi was killed by ‘unknown gunmen’ in the Jhelum area of Pakistan. Sindhi was a key LeT operative responsible for coordinating several major attacks in the Rajouri-Poonch region along [[Line of Control]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Philip |first=Snehesh Alex |date=2025-03-16 |title=‘Unknown gunmen’ strike Hafiz Saeed’s close aide Sindhi in Pakistan; was behind Poonch-Rajouri attacks |url=https://theprint.in/defence/unknown-gunmen-strike-hafiz-saeeds-close-aide-sindhi-in-pakistan-was-behind-poonch-rajouri-attacks/2549720/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250410102820/https://theprint.in/defence/unknown-gunmen-strike-hafiz-saeeds-close-aide-sindhi-in-pakistan-was-behind-poonch-rajouri-attacks/2549720/ |archive-date=2025-04-10 |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=ThePrint |language=en-US}}</ref>