The involvement of militant groups with strong Pakistan links in recent terror strikes across the country is expected to find an echo when Indian officials talk to their Pakistan counterparts in the Indo-Pak Joint Anti-Terror Mechanism. The second meeting of the mechanism begins here on Monday.

Security agencies are referring to the involvement of Harkat-ul-Jihadi-Islami (HuJI) Bangladesh in successive strikes in Hyderabad and more recently in Ajmer. The group has strong Pakistan links. The alleged mastermind and outfit commander Shahid Bilal is believed to be based in Karachi, having fled India after executing the attack on the STF office in Hyderabad in 2005. Bilal was drafted into HuJI by Rasool Khan Party who heads the militant group’s operations in western India, say intelligence agencies.

“There are striking similarities between the Hyderabad blasts and the Ajmer strike, the same people seem to be involved,” a senior official said.

The meeting also comes amid concern that some Pakistani groups were trying to fan Khalistan passions again. National Security Adviser M K Narayanan has spoken of attempts in Pakistan to build up a radical Sikh environment.

Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), that has emerged as the prime accused in the Ludhiana blast, has had strong links with the ISI in the past. Members of the outfit are suspected to have carried out the blast in tandem with modules of Pakistan-based Islamic terror groups like the LeT or Jaish.

But what is likely to stop the Indian side from going all out when it comes to discussing the recent attacks is the lack of progress in investigations. No arrests have been made in the Hyderabad blasts (Mecca Masjid and the twin blasts) or the Ajmer strike or the Ludhiana blast. And there is no point sharing “live information” about the investigations as this might hamper ongoing probes, goes the thinking. But Malegaon, where a chargesheet has already been filed, is likely to figure in the discussions.

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