PoK man held for allegedly sharing mosque coordinates with Indian agency

ISLAMABAD: Nearly 100 days after Indian fighter jets pounded “terror bases” in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), local police said they have arrested a man who allegedly passed on the GPS coordinates of a mosque that was among those hit.

The May 6 raids had left the Bilal Mosque in Muzaffarabad badly damaged, with three fatalities reported. Now, PoK police say Obaid Jahangir of Rawalakot “sold out” by sharing its exact GPS location with India over WhatsApp, allegedly for money.

Obaid has been booked under the draconian Official Secrets Act, 1923, with police claiming they had recovered “hard evidence” of espionage. “He passed on sensitive images and the mosque’s coordinates in exchange for hefty payments,” claimed SSP Riaz Mughal of PoK police’s counter-terrorism department (CTD).

But the case is already mired in conflicting narratives. Another senior CTD officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, went further, alleging Jahangir had a past with a banned outfit before joining a so-called relief organisation. Investigators, he added, had traced communications with Indian handlers on his phone.

The family, however, insists Obaid is no militant. His uncle admitted the 30-something may have “fallen into a money trap” but stressed he was only associated with the Jammu Kashmir United Movement , a relief body. “If he is guilty, he should face the law, but he has never been part of any militant outfit,” the uncle maintained.

His lawyer, Abdul Samad, pointed out that the sections invoked against him cover trespassing into restricted areas and passing on information “prejudicial to national security”. Conviction under these clauses carries punishments ranging from 14 years in prison to life.

Earlier this year, too, PoK police had arrested a police constable on charges of selling sensitive information across the border.