A chilling new terror threat is hanging over India’s capital. Intelligence agencies have sounded a high alert warning that Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistan-based terror group backed by army chief General Asim Munir, is actively plotting a major attack in Delhi, targeting the iconic Red Fort and the densely crowded Chandni Chowk market, home to one of Delhi’s most revered temples.

According to intelligence inputs, Lashkar is planning an IED blast in front of the Red Fort, while simultaneously eyeing a temple in Chandni Chowk as a secondary target. The alert further warns that Lashkar fidayeen, suicide operatives,  have already been trained and are being readied for the attack. Security agencies have responded swiftly, deploying heavy reinforcements across both the Chandni Chowk and Red Fort areas.

LeT Delhi terror plot: A carbon copy of November 2025 Red Fort blast

The intelligence alert carries an ominous sense of déjà vu. In November 2025, a bomb exploded near the Red Fort, an IED attack that killed 13 people, with the blast point just 200 metres from the Gauri Shankar Mandir in Chandni Chowk. The current threat mirrors that attack in almost every detail: same location, same method (IED), same target profile (temple), and the same modus operandi of deploying fidayeen attackers.

The stakes this time, however, are significantly higher. Chandni Chowk sees between 5 to 7 lakh visitors every single day. Around 20,000 vehicles pass through it daily. At peak evening hours, more than 30,000 people are present simultaneously. The plot has also emerged days before Holi, when crowds in areas like Chandni Chowk swell further, a timing that investigators believe is deliberate.

The Islamabad Mosque pretext and Munir’s double game

Lashkar-e-Taiba is reportedly using the recent Islamabad mosque blast as a justification for the planned Delhi attack, with Hafiz Saeed and Asim Munir blaming India without a shred of evidence. The reality, however, is that the Islamabad attack was claimed by Islamic State Khorasan, a product of Pakistan’s own internal sectarian violence, specifically targeting the Shia community.

Analysts say Munir is deliberately exploiting the Islamabad bombing to deflect attention from Pakistan’s domestic security failures and to weaponise the incident against India. Adding to the complexity, this alert marks a significant tactical shift: fidayeen attacks have historically been Jaish-e-Mohammed’s signature method, not Lashkar’s. The fact that Lashkar is now deploying trained fidayeen operatives signals that, post-Operation Sindoor, the group has fundamentally overhauled its attack playbook.

On the border, Pakistan’s army compounded the threat picture by violating the ceasefire in the Naugam sector of Kupwara, firing on an advanced Indian post along the Line of Control. Indian forces responded decisively, and security officials believe the firing was designed to provide cover for terrorists attempting to infiltrate into Indian territory. That attempt was foiled.

Meanwhile, Munir is running a parallel public relations operation. Pakistan’s Punjab provincial government has released a list of 90 terror organisations, including Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, that have been banned from receiving Zakat donations during Ramzan. The ban is being presented as a crackdown on terror financing. The reality tells a different story: in Pakistan, Zakat, the Islamic practice of donating 2.5% of one’s income, generates approximately Rs 20,000 crore annually, with reports suggesting 10 to 15% of that finds its way to terror groups. After Operation Sindoor destroyed Lashkar’s Markaz Taiba headquarters and Jaish’s Markaz Subhan Allah base, Munir personally sanctioned Rs 12 crore each to rebuild both facilities. Banning Zakat donations publicly while rebuilding terror infrastructure privately is the clearest definition of a double game.

Delhi is on high alert. India’s borders are being held. But the Munir-Hafiz axis has made its intentions clear and if history is any guide, when a conspiracy is plotted across the border, the response will reach across the border too.