Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is reportedly pivoting to a 'soft terror' playbook against India, banking on a coordinated graffiti campaign and a fabricated outfit called the Tehreek-e-Taliban Hindustan (TTH) to sustain its anti-India offensive after the setbacks of Operation Sindoor, according to Indian intelligence officials. With cross-border infiltration drying up and multiple terror modules busted, Islamabad is said to be shifting from kinetic strikes to narrative warfare aimed at radicalising impressionable youth in India's border states.

Why the shift to 'soft terror'

Indian agencies assess that Pakistan, and particularly Field Marshal Asim Munir, is under acute pressure to recover face after Operation Sindoor — launched to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack. An Intelligence Bureau official said infiltration attempts have 'virtually dried up', forcing a tactical reset toward propaganda, radicalisation and low-cost optics rather than armed cross-border action.

The TTH fabrication explained

At the centre of the new campaign, officials say, is the promotion of a non-existent group — the Tehreek-e-Taliban Hindustan — designed to mirror the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The intent, the official said, is to pass off the TTH as an Indian intelligence creation and project India as the aggressor in the region. The narrative is also meant to deflect domestic anger inside Pakistan, where the TTP has inflicted heavy casualties on security forces.

This mirrors an earlier Pakistani tactic in Afghanistan, where Islamabad accused the Afghan Taliban — without public evidence — of sheltering the TTP, eventually escalating to military strikes.

How the graffiti war is being engineered

Officials say the ISI is recruiting youth in border states, paying small sums to paint graffiti at railway stations, college buildings, bus stands and government offices. The messaging is expected to focus on the TTH, Kashmir and Khalistan, alongside allegations about India's human rights record.

'This is not about bombing properties or attacking them with guns. This is to attack the mindset of the youth, particularly those in colleges who are impressionable,' an official said. Drug-addicted youth are being specifically targeted, the official added, because they need money and view painting graffiti as a low-risk task.

Why the timing matters for Munir

The push comes as Munir contends with mounting losses to the TTP and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), and growing irritation from Beijing over repeated attacks on Chinese investments in Pakistan. By amplifying the TTH and tying it to alleged Indian backing, officials argue, Pakistan is attempting to manufacture a counter-narrative that explains away its internal security collapse.

What Indian agencies are watching

Indian agencies have, in recent months, dismantled underworld-linked terror modules, broken up spying rings, and uncovered an ISI operation involving solar-powered CCTV cameras installed at key locations to enable live surveillance. With those plans foundering, the graffiti and propaganda track is reportedly Islamabad's fallback. Surveillance on recruitment activity in border states has been intensified, officials said, with the months ahead expected to see further attempts to seed the TTH narrative.