Chandigarh | Updated: July 28, 2026
Punjab Police have been put on high alert ahead of Independence Day after fresh intelligence inputs indicated an increased threat from Pakistan’s ISI and affiliated terror groups.
Police officials said recent attacks on police stations and BJP offices were already being seen as part of a broader pattern to disturb law and order in Punjab.
According to an internal assessment based on intelligence inputs, Pakistan’s ISI has intensified efforts to destabilize Punjab after Operation Sindoor in May 2025.
The assessment said facts emerging from recently busted terror modules, technology-based espionage cases, and recoveries of weapons and narcotics from across the border pointed to a new multi-pronged strategy.
Latest intelligence inputs suggest a significant rise in attack plans for Independence Day 2026 and the days leading up to it.
Officials said pro-Khalistan terror nodes, mainly linked to Babbar Khalsa International, and transnational organized criminal networks based in countries such as Germany, France, Portugal, the UK, Canada, the US, and Malaysia were being used to push militant hardware into Punjab.
Police officials said the ISI was also planning attacks through its own operatives and under the cover of pseudo pro-Khalistani entities to avoid direct attribution.
The range of weapons being pushed into Punjab has also expanded.
Apart from RDX-based tiffin IEDs, hand grenades, automatic weapons, and small firearms, newly designed remote-controlled RDX-based prefabricated IEDs and petrol bombs are also part of the threat assessment.
Officials said these low-grade and easy-to-fabricate explosives could still be effective for terror objectives.
The list of possible targets has also widened.
Earlier targets included police, CAPF, and defense establishments; serving and retired Punjab Police personnel linked to counter-terror operations; and offices and leaders of right-wing parties.
Now, the threat has expanded to random targeting of police personnel, railway infrastructure, and other critical infrastructure across Punjab.
Officials said there is also a shift from targeting individuals to targeting crowded places with high footfall.
In 2026, till July 27, Punjab Police have busted 10 terror modules through intelligence-led operations and sustained investigations.
A total of 137 persons have been arrested in these cases.
Recoveries from these operations include seven automatic rifles, 76 revolvers and pistols, 12 RDX-based prefabricated IEDs, 3.756 kg of RDX, nine detonators, 49 hand grenades, one RPG with a launcher, and seven walkie-talkie sets.
Police have also detected and busted six cases of technology-based espionage.
These cases involved solar-powered CCTV cameras that were allegedly feeding live visuals to handlers in Pakistan.
During the same period, 183 drones were recovered, highlighting the scale of cross-border smuggling attempts being used to support terror modules.
Police officials said the pattern involving weapons, espionage, and drone activity will shape the heightened security arrangements being put in place across Punjab for Independence Day.
