Mumbai: In a high-stakes matrix of espionage, nuclear intelligence, and cross-border covert operations, the arrest of two individuals impersonating Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) scientists has uncovered a possible link with Pakistan’s clandestine nuclear programme. The central figure, Akhtar Hussaini Qutbuddin Ahmed (60), a master of deception, disclosed during interrogation that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had attempted to blackmail him into sharing sensitive technical information. He claimed to have successfully misled the ISI for years before his cover was compromised following India’s nuclear tests in 1998.

Investigators familiar with the interrogation records stated that Akhtar told them he had been operational in Iran from 1992 under a covert programme of th

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