Ahmedabad: A woman arrested by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) for allegedly promoting the agenda of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) had appealed to Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir to invade India during Operation Sindoor to “unify Muslim lands” under “Project Khilafat”, officials have said.

Arrest and charges

Shama Parveen Ansari was taken into custody from her residence in Bengaluru on 29 July. She faces charges of disseminating propaganda on behalf of AQIS, a proscribed terror outfit, through her social media accounts.

According to the ATS, Ansari operated two Facebook pages and an Instagram handle, amassing around 10,000 followers. Through these platforms, she allegedly shared provocative, jihadi, and anti-India content linked to AQIS and several radical preachers.

Appeal to Pakistan Army Chief

On 9 May, just two days after India launched Operation Sindoor targeting terror hideouts in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Ansari reportedly uploaded a post on her Facebook account appealing to General Munir to seize the “golden opportunity” to attack India.

In the post, which featured an image of Munir, Ansari wrote:

“You have a golden opportunity… adopt Project Khilafat for the implementation of Islam, unify Muslim lands, and march forward to eliminate Hindutva and Zionism… So march forward.”

Videos shared with provocative content

The ATS release further stated that Ansari shared multiple videos on her Instagram account. In one such video, a preacher can be heard criticising Indian Muslims for supporting the Indian Army and for condemning the terror attack in Pahalgam.

Another video clip posted by Ansari allegedly features Abdul Aziz, the Imam of Lahore’s Lal Masjid, making provocative remarks about establishing the Khilafat system in India through an armed revolution against the government.

A third video, also attributed to her account, reportedly shows an AQIS leader speaking about “Ghazwa-e-Hind” and delivering inciting messages calling for violence against the Indian state. The video specifically targets members of the Hindu community and institutions of democratic governance, the ATS said.

Link to other accused

According to officials, Ansari was connected to one of the four individuals arrested two weeks earlier for allegedly distributing similar provocative content through Instagram. These four persons, including two from Gujarat, were apprehended from various locations in a multi-state operation.

All five people have been booked under several sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

PTI inputs