Pakistan Snooping On Afghanistan Airspace? Exclusive From Sources Close To Saleh

Last Updated:January 14, 2025, 15:43 IST

“Sa-adat Mohammad, passport number CF8157287, serves as an ISI officer tasked with gathering intelligence on the Afghan aviation system. He oversees an extensive network of informants and collaborators within airports,” said sources close to Saleh

A file photo of a U.S military aircraft taking off at the Hamid Karzai Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2021. (AP)

Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has a mole who has informants in the Afghanistan Air Traffic Controller (ATC) and airports to gather all information including airpath and manifest, according to sources close to the country’s former vice-president Amrullah Saleh.

“Sa-adat Mohammad, passport number CF8157287, serves as an ISI officer tasked with gathering intelligence on the Afghan aviation system. He oversees an extensive network of informants and collaborators within airports, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and the Taliban’s Ministry of Interior. This officer also made efforts to infiltrate the GAAC, the UAE-owned company which handles four major airports in Afghanistan," said sources.

In February 2024, Mohammad engaged in negotiations with the Taliban regarding the signing of a contract for management of Khost province airport, according to sources. The Taliban showed reluctance that such an arrangement would be too obvious and potentially counterproductive, said sources.

Later, Mohammad’s second offer was for discreet placement of specific professionals at Khost Airport, which was met with clandestine agreement, they said.

“This was accepted and later all information pertaining to operations and activities in Khost Airport, including flight manifests, was discreetly relayed to Mohammad," they said.

WHAT INDIAN INTELLIGENCE SOURCES SAY

According to Indian intelligence sources, money is a major issue for negotiating deals with the ISI and Taliban is unable to realise the impact of this data-sharing pact.

“Once you have control over ATC and airport movements and flight manifest you can do anything. From hijacking to missile attack, everything is an easy job which Taliban is ignoring and allowing foreigners specially Pakistanis entry to their offices. This is not only sharing of information, but dangerous from security point of view," said sources.

“The ISI snooping does not end here. The ISI conveniently deployed one officer in the negotiation team in 2024 when Kabul embassy was opening in New Delhi," they said.

News18 had earlier reported how Afghanistan Green Trend (AGT) and Saleh had said that there were more than 150 ISI officials in the Pakistani embassy in Kabul.

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