Leaked intelligence from British security sources suggests Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence has been running a clandestine campaign of espionage, influence, and intimidation on UK soil – particularly in cities with large Pakistani diaspora communities like London, Birmingham, and Manchester. Targets reportedly include exiled dissidents from Balochistan and Pashtun activists, Kashmiri independence advocates, and investigative journalists who have exposed ISI-linked human rights abuses. These concerns are not unfounded. As one MI5 officer reportedly put it, “This is state-sponsored coercion disguised as diplomacy” – essentially a KGB playbook with a South Asian accent. Indeed, Pakistani operatives have allegedly used the cover of diplomatic missions and cultural outreach to pursue dissidents abroad. According to diaspora activists and security officials, Pakistan’s community organizations and even its High Commission in London are “very infiltrated” by persons loyal to the military establishment, and there are claims that Pakistani diplomatic staff in the UK facilitate visas and travel documents for individuals flagged on counterterrorism watchlists – often under the pretense of religious pilgrimages or cultural events. This tactic allows Islamabad’s agents to enter or move through the country under diplomatic cover and monitor or influence diaspora groups without drawing public attention. While direct documentation of visa abuse is hard to obtain, the pattern fits a broader strategy. Pakistani missions regularly host community meetings, mosque tours, “unity conferences,” and other events that on the surface celebrate culture or faith – but behind the scenes, intelligence sources say, serve to collect information on attendees and build influence networks. These activities have largely escaped public scrutiny, shielded by diplomatic privilege and benign labels like “interfaith outreach.” Notably, a 2024 analysis by the Henry Jackson Society reportedly ranked Pakistan among the top three non-allied states engaging in hostile activities on British soil, alongside Russia and China. What has been observed in Britain is part of a wider European pattern. According to leaked Italian intelligence reports  apparently corroborated by French and German security agencies – Pakistan’s ISI is orchestrating a systematic campaign to surveil, infiltrate, and pressure diaspora communities across Europe. Methods range from infiltration of community events to cyber surveillance and familial pressure. Evidence of this covert infrastructure has surfaced in several countries. In France, for example, exiled Pakistani journalists and activists have faced 'mysterious' harassment and threats. Leaked files from France’s domestic intelligence (DGSI) allegedly showed that officials from the Pakistani Embassy in Paris organized certain “cultural gatherings” that doubled as surveillance operations, with intelligence officers mingling among guests to identify outspoken attendees. In Germany, members of groups such as the Baloch and Pashtun rights movements report being followed or photographed at protests, and sometimes approached by “well-meaning countrymen” who actually probe them for information. In one reported case, consular staff in Berlin allegedly stalled the passport renewal of a known government critic’s family member, implicitly tying its issuance to the critic’s silence. Diplomatic immunity often shields these operations. Moreover, Pakistan cloaks many initiatives in the language of “cultural exchange” or “community cohesion,” avoiding the overt aggression that draws media attention. But Western security services are now belatedly acknowledging that Pakistan’s “shadow war” on its critics has quietly arrived on European soil. Among European countries, Italy has emerged as an unexpected epicenter in this evolving theater of operations. Long perceived by jihadist networks as a “soft entry” into Europe , Italy now finds itself at the frontline of what officials dub a “silent war” fusing foreign intelligence objectives with extremist militancy. In fact, Pakistani intelligence footprints in Italy have been observed for the past twenty years. Milan and Brescia in northern Italy host large Pakistani communities, and evidence of ISI-linked activity surfaced as early as the late 2000s. A notorious example was uncovered after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks: Italian police in Brescia arrested two Pakistani-origin residents who had unknowingly helped channel funds and VoIP communication for the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists who attacked Mumbai. In recent years, Italian counterterrorism authorities have raised concerns about extremist networks embedded within segments of the Pakistani diaspora in Northern Italy. Investigations in cities like Brescia, Milan, and Bergamo uncovered cells linked to groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and networks sending illicit funds to Taliban affiliates via hawala channels. Security officials remain alarmed by the shift in radicalisation methods: recruitment now extends beyond first-generation migrants to include second-generation youths, and occasionally Italian converts. Grooming often takes place online – through Italian-language propaganda on TikTok, encrypted Telegram groups, and even multiplayer gaming communities. Italian investigations have documented encrypted communications between radicalised youth in Italy and clerics or facilitators in Pakistan, including the flow of ideological guidance, voice notes, and small financial transfers through hawala-style remittances. Often, family-owned shops or religious charities have been used unwittingly to move funds. This isn’t a new game for the ISI, but its digital evolution is accelerating. Pakistani intelligence networks have long leveraged diaspora connections for espionage, influence, and ideological propagation, and in recent years, European security agencies have raised concerns about online radicalisation pipelines linking back to Islamabad. In 2022, Italian, French, and Spanish authorities dismantled a jihadi cell known as the Gabar Group. While its leadership consisted of Pakistani nationals, the cell recruited European-born sympathizers steeped in extremist groups ideology. Italian ROS Carabinieri counterterror investigations have documented VPN usage among radicalised youth consuming ISIS, al-Qaeda, and Pakistan-based TLP or LeT propaganda, assessed that some extremist narratives originate from organisations based in Pakistan, and that informal money transfer systems and family networks have been exploited to fund radicalisation or propaganda dissemination. In recent years, Italian security services have intensified surveillance against ISIS-inspired plots, particularly in urban hubs like Naples, Florence, and Bari. Counterterror raids in these regions have targeted individuals suspected of disseminating jihadist propaganda and inciting attacks on transport systems and religious gatherings. Italian counterterror officials continue to monitor networks involving Pakistani-origin residents, though past prosecutions have mainly focused on Taliban finance and Lashkar-e-Taiba facilitators rather than ISIS-directed cells. Europol assessments highlight that radicalisation today no longer depends on underground mosques or physical safehouses. Instead, recruitment thrives in what one investigator called “algorithmic dark zones” – Discord servers, TikTok feeds, and encrypted Telegram channels where recruiters exploit identity crises, economic frustration, and political disaffection.What emerges is a sophisticated and decentralised ecosystem of extremism. It begins with surveillance and intimidation cloaked in diplomatic privilege – intelligence officers embedded in embassies and cultural associations – and it culminates in ideological warfare targeting European youth through social media, tailored propaganda, and curated grievance narratives. Recent Italian intelligence assessments warn that this threat cannot be addressed through policing alone. Diplomatic accountability, cyber-intelligence capabilities, and rigorous financial monitoring must converge to disrupt the flows of ideology, money, and coercion enabling transnational radicalisation. This is no longer a hypothetical risk. It is already here – encrypted in private chats, camouflaged behind diplomatic activities, and circulating in the algorithmic churn of social media. From London to Milan to Naples, Pakistan’s shadow reaches far. Until policymakers fully acknowledge its contours, Europe remains in a silent war with one hand tied behind its back.