“India, your death is coming” said Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar in his recent public address in Bahawalpur, Pakistan. JeM is responsible for several terror attacks which include the 2001 attack on Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly and the Indian Parliament attack, the Pathankot airbase attack in 2016, the attack on the Indian Mission in Mazar-i-Sharif, the 2016 Uri attack, and the deadly 2019 Pulwama attack. In a 13,500-page charge sheet in the Pulwama attack case, the NIA named JeM chief Masood Azhar as the mastermind. Since its conception, JeM has launched suicide attacks on military camps, army bases, as well as public places in Kashmir and other parts of India. India has consistently demanded a strong action on Azhar, however Pakistan has continued to deny having any information of his whereabouts. The resurfacing of Azhar in Bahawalpur has certainly raised several eyebrows in Delhi, not simply due to Pakistan’s blatant hypocrisy but also due the nature of Azhar’s speech, which calls for jihad on India.
In his outlandish speech, Azhar reportedly referred to the Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “mouse” and declared his objective to wage jihad by ramping up terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. Making references to the Quran, Azhar justified his intent to carry forward his jihadist plans on India.
Additionally, while addressing his congregation, Azhar has also claimed to be a close aide of top Afghan Taliban leaders. However, his claims were dismissed by Sirajuddin Haqqani, the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan, censuring his statements as falsified claims to garner support amongst certain networks already prevalent in Pakistan.
Pakistan has drawn a sharp criticism from India since Azhar’s recent address. Also, it would be inconceivable to assume that the ISI would lack any knowledge in regards to its own asset, especially JeM which was its creation.
On Friday, India called out Pakistan’s duplicity. The Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, at a press briefing, stated if the reports of Azhar were true then it is ascertained that Pakistan’s claims of effective counter terrorism measures to curb terrorist outfits responsible for cross border attacks in India were false. He further called for a “strong action to be taken against him.”
#WATCH | On Masood Azhar, MEA official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, "He is an UN-designated terrorist. We demand that strong action be taken against him so that he is brought to justice. There has been a denial that he is not there in Pakistan. What you are referring to, if… pic.twitter.com/ceZPHuEUZp
— ANI (@ANI) December 6, 2024
It is imperative to mention, Pakistan has been actively peddling disinformation in regards to India to support its own narrative on Kashmir and on the Muslim citizens of India, while masking its own support for proxy wars, cross border terrorism and anti India elements on its soil. This was evident from the recent activities of several Pakistan handles.
In January 2024, many X handles from Pakistan shared pictures and a viral video claiming the death of Masood Azha in an explosion. However, there was no coverage of the news on mainstream medias in Pakistan and India. This happened at the time when India was being falsely accused of eliminating terrorists on Pakistan soil. However, this was soon debunked.
The photographs were later identified as that of a religious scholar Maulana Muhammad Amin, who was gravely injured in a raid carried out by unknown assailants in Barkambakhel area, Bara, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
It was later reported that the video too was from November 2023 of a police van which was attacked in the Dera Ismail Khan area of Pakistan. Apart from this, another recycled video from 2019 video was also used to spread Azhar’s death narrative.
In another case, on Nov 13th 2023, a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist and also a close aide of Masood Azhar, Maulana Raheem Ullah Tariq was found shot dead in Karachi’s Orangi town. Even though there was a strong possibility of local terrorists or the possible discord amongst the JeM cadres which would have led to the murder of Tariq, the blame was placed on India for extrajudicial killing by some “unknown men”. And as expected, Pakistan like Canada, was determined to point its lack or failure in investigation of the supposed culprits on India.
This was evident in other instances as well, where the supposed “unknown men” from India were mentioned. Example- in the case the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Akram Ghazi in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), the killing of Khwaja Shahid, one of the culprits behind the Sunjuwan terror attack in J&K in 2018, the killing of Daud Malik who was close associate of Masood Azhar in Waziristan.
According to several reports, it is understood that Pakistan employs a strategy of utilizing certain groups and outfits to carry proxy wars, drive their agenda while maintaining deniability on the terror activities orchestrated by the groups. In some cases, claims have been made where agreements are made between the Pakistan intelligence and terror outfits. One such claim was reported by a former Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesperson, Ehsanullah Ehsan in an article published in Sunday Guardian. The article talks about Pakistan’s utilization of Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) outfit against Afghanistan post the “Dabori agreement” between ISI and the senior ISKP leadership.
Hence, its expected that the Pakistan government would also maintain deniability and obstruct every measure for the investigation on Azhar who comes funded and endorsed by ISI.

Comprehending the JeM-ISI symbiosis
Jaish-e-Mohammed is based in Pakistan. It is also known as “the Army of Mohammed”. It is a Deobandi jihadist group, which aims to sunder Kashmir from India so it can merge with Pakistan.
It was formed in 2001 by Maulana Masood Azhar with the aid of Pakistan’s ISI.
Before founding JeM, Azhar was the senior leader of Harakut ul-Ansar, also known as Harat-ul-Mujahideen or Harakat ul-Mujahideen. This too was a Pakistan-based outfit, whose main modus operandi was to bolster the jihadist movement in Afghanistan and oppose the Soviet.
Apart from the obvious ISI involvement in the formation of JeM, the group was favourably supported by Osama bin Laden, the Afghan Taliban, AL-Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Al-Rashid Trust and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and other jihadist groups. However, since Taliban’s exit from war theatre to transforming into a government, it is expected of Sirajuddin Haqqani to distance Taliban from JeM, given Taliban government’s need for recognition while seeking a diplomatic relation with India.
Politically, JeM has aligned with Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Fazlur Rehman faction (JUI-F) in Pakistan.
JeM has a strong hold in Pakistan’s Punjab, hence it is no surprise that JeM’s headquarters is located in Bahawalpur. This wouldn’t be possible if the outfit had no support or aid from Islamabad.
Despite Azhar being designated as a terrorist by the UN and JeM proscribed as terrorist outfit, the group continues to function under the name of Tehrik-ul-Furqan.
According to Jamestown Foundation, JeM is considered to be “the second most lethal India-centric terror group based in the Pakistani Punjab," which consists of a highly inspired militant youth cadre.
According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), JeM has continued its activities in Pakistan as “an educational and religious charity” under the name of Al-Rahmat Trust (ART). This Trust became fundamental in garnering donorship and recruitment of terrorists fighting in Kashmir, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
By 2003, it was reported that JeM divided into two factions, Jamaat ul-Furqan (JuF) and Khuddam-ul-Islam (KuI). Despite the division, both are viewed as a single entity JeM.
In 2011, JeM resurrected itself by carrying out full-scale public activities involving fundraisers under the noses of the Pakistani security personnel. It is believed that since the Pakistan Muslim League came to power JeM went through a silent revival.
Regardless of an imposed ban, their leader Maulana Masood Azhar has continued to push their agenda boldly. In January 2014, he addressed his supporters “by phone” at a rally in Muzaffarabad. The purpose of the rally was to promote a book written by a former JeM leader, Mohammad Afzal Guru. Afzal Guru was executed in India in 2013 for his role in the attack on the Indian parliament. Azhar used the Muzaffarabad rally as a medium to ask Pakistan to “’lift restrictions on jihad’” and to issue a warning to India for the execution of Afzal Guru. He has also issued threats to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has been propagating to dispatch its fidayeens to India.
In December 2014, Indian securities agencies had issued two airport security alerts, due to possibility of a plane hijacking by the members of JeM.
In January 2015, the Sunday Guardian reported that a unit of Pakistan army’s Special Services Group had been deployed “near the International Border to help terrorists belonging to Lashkhar-E-Taiba and Jaish-E-Mohammed to infiltrate into India”. This also makes the former TTP spokesperson Ehsanullah’s claim plausible as he spoke of ISI using ISKP in Afghanistan to carry a “Kashmir style attack”.
In January 2016, JeM carried the Pathankot attack. In September 2016, the group was also involved in an attack on an army camp at Uri, Kashmir.
On 14 February 2019, a JeM fidayeen called Adil Ahmad Dar, was responsible for a suicide bombing on a convoy of security vehicles near Pulwama, which consumed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel.
In each case, Pakistan’s deniability of being affiliated and its lackadaisical approach to hunt these terrorists and outfits has only confirmed its clandestine activities.
Over the years, the jihadist networks have spread their roots into Kashmir and various parts of India through their religious propaganda and through their active recruitments under the name of false charities and NGOs which receive support funds from ISI proxies in form of zakat.
It remains yet to be seen, to what extent Pakistan may be willing to bend to protect its bed fellows like JeM, while India demands action.
Excellent understanding & Presentation of this burning issue…
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