Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is actively working to shift its honey-trap espionage network from its traditional base in Faridkot, Pakistan, to smaller towns and villages inside India, according to intelligence officials. The move, combined with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated images and videos, is being described as a fresh and complex challenge for Indian security agencies.

From Faridkot to India's Heartland

For years, the ISI's honey-trap operations were run exclusively out of Faridkot in Pakistan, with recruits in states such as Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh reporting back to handlers there. According to officials, the ISI now intends to relocate these modules entirely within Indian territory, eliminating the cross-border trail that has historically aided Indian investigators.

The strategy aligns with what officials describe as a broader ISI policy of ensuring that operations targeting India appear home-grown, making it harder to attribute them to Pakistan. Officials say the ISI is now looking to expand into southern Indian towns as well, with a deliberate focus on smaller, lower-profile locations where recruitment is easier and surveillance pressure is lower.

Between 2015 and 2019, the ISI had reportedly allocated a budget of ₹3,000 crore to run this module — a figure that, according to officials, underscores the scale and institutional commitment behind these operations.

AI-Generated Traps: A New Dimension

A significant escalation, officials say, is the ISI's use of AI-generated images and videos of women to set traps and extract sensitive information. Unlike earlier operations that relied on real recruits — reportedly including women specifically appointed to elicit defence-related information — AI-generated personas create a scenario where Indian agencies may not even be dealing with a real individual on the other end.

An Intelligence Bureau official said this development poses a qualitatively different challenge: conventional counter-intelligence methods that focus on identifying and tracking human operatives become far less effective when the 'person' setting the trap does not physically exist. Officials also noted that recent investigations found the ISI has used pornography and nudity to trap individuals and extract sensitive information.

Agniveers in the Crosshairs

Intelligence reports suggest the ISI has specifically set its sights on Agniveers — newly inducted short-tenure soldiers in the Indian armed forces. Officials warn that Agniveers may be particularly vulnerable, citing limited awareness about AI-generated content and the difficulty of distinguishing fabricated media from genuine material.

The ISI's primary interest, officials say, remains gathering intelligence about the Indian armed forces — information that could provide a tactical advantage in conflict scenarios or be used to embarrass the military establishment.

Post-Operation Sindoor Surge

Officials say honey-trapping cases have risen multi-fold following Operation Sindoor, India's military response to the Pahalgam terror attack. The operation, which officials say exposed Pakistan's broader terror infrastructure and called out what they described as its nuclear posturing, appears to have prompted a sharp retaliatory escalation in espionage activity.

'The Pakistanis are hell-bent on getting back and hence these honey-trapping exercises have only gone up ten-fold so that the Indian armed forces could be embarrassed,' an official said.

Indian security agencies are already managing honey-trap cases on a significant scale, with arrests spanning both ordinary citizens and serving officials accused of sharing sensitive information. The convergence of home-grown modules, geographic dispersal into smaller towns, and AI-assisted deception is expected to make the threat considerably harder to contain in the months ahead.