A joint operation by the Jammu and Kashmir Police and military intelligence has unearthed a Pakistan-backed cyber-espionage network targeting local youth.Karan Kumar, a 23-year-old school dropout from Makwal village in the Satwari area of Jammu district, was arrested on Saturday for sharing photos of defence installations with a woman ISI operative. (File photo)The heightened surveillance a month before the annual Amarnath Yatra, set to begin on July 3, led to the arrest of a youngster in Jammu and the timely intervention in a separate blackmail attempt in Doda, blocking the leakage of sensitive information to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).Karan Kumar, a 23-year-old school dropout from Makwal village in the Satwari area of Jammu district, was arrested on Saturday for sharing photos of defence installations with a woman ISI operative. According to police, Kumar was lured on Snapchat a few months ago by a the woman posing as a Border Security Force (BSF) personnel stationed in Sunderbani. Investigators found that Kumar had transmitted the photos in exchange for cash, including a confirmed payment of ₹2,000, while the operative used explicit media to keep him engaged. Police have seized his digital devices for forensic analysis.In a separate operation, cyber surveillance tracking allowed police to rescue a 28-year-old man from the Bhaderwah area of Doda district before any sensitive information was breached.The youth was targeted on Messenger after posting a video of snowfall on social media by an operative claiming to be from the Kashmir Valley. By March, the operative escalated demands for military photos using financial lures, followed by death threats against his family and orders to relocate to Rajouri near the Line of Control (LoC). Though the youth blocked the contact, he was targeted by extortion calls from a dozen Pakistani WhatsApp numbers, prompting the police to step in.Security agencies have tightened digital monitoring across the region ahead of the annual pilgrimage. Inspector General of Police, Jammu Zone, BS Tuti urged citizens to refrain from interacting with unverified entities online.