New Delhi: Trouble is brewing within Jaish-e-Mohammed, which has struggled to regroup in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor and has since been hit by a series of crises.
While its ground cadres have been readied for operations and are waiting at launchpads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), the outfit is grappling with complete disarray at the top and second-rung levels of its leadership.
An Intelligence Bureau official said Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had established complete control over Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and was directing the activities of both outfits as well as Hizbul Mujahideen. The ISI has instructed the three groups to remain united and fight on a common front in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Technically, Masood Azhar, Hafiz Saeed and Syed Salahuddin are the chiefs of JeM, LeT and Hizbul Mujahideen, respectively. However, all decisions are taken by the ISI, and these leaders have to report to the spy agency. The ISI has assigned Brigadier Iqbal and Colonel Owaiz to oversee the operations of the three terror outfits,” the official said.
An official said that while the cadres have been brought under control, the ISI is facing major issues in sorting out the differences between the top and second rung leadership.
Masood Azhar has taken a back seat owing to ill health and also due to the losses he suffered when his closest family members were killed during Operation Sindoor in May last year.
“The ISI may have taken complete control, but the agency still cannot fill in the void owing to Azhar’s absence,” the official said.
Azhar is a towering personality and has a cult status within the Jaish and also among other terror groups. On his command, he could order a terror strike, and none would hesitate to get the job done. The second rung of the leadership would not dare disobey his orders, and this led to the outfit remaining largely united, the official added.
Another official said that during meetings there are always skirmishes between the current leadership.
“Disputes have arisen over delegation of assignments and control of the outfit. While a Brigadier and Colonel are at the helm, these leaders still do not consider them leaders as they are not ideologically inclined towards them, like in the case of Azhar,” the official said.
Jaish has also suffered a series of killings of its operatives by unknown gunmen in recent years. Several of those killed held key positions within the outfit, and their deaths have further widened the leadership vacuum. Since 2020, at least 30 operatives belonging to Jaish and Lashkar have been killed by unknown gunmen.
The recent death of Muhammad Asim, a Lahore-based operational commander of the Jaish, has widened the rift further within the outfit. He, along with his wife Huma Asim and son, Talha Asim, were killed when a heavy trailer rammed into their vehicle from behind.
Many within the JeM and surviving family members suspect foul play. Some are even blaming it on an internal hit job, which could have been carried out due to financial transactions.
Asim was in charge of fundraising. He was the one who was raising funds for the operations of the Jaish. He was also in charge of raising funds and creating international pipelines to move and bring in the money. He was given the charge of dealing with Hamas directly when it came to funds, officials say.
Some of the other prominent operatives who have been under suspicious circumstances were Shahid Latif, the mastermind of the 2016 Pathankot attack, Maulana Salman Azhar and Maulana Raheem Ullah Tariq.
The cracks within the outfit had started to show once these mysterious deaths started taking place. Many have questioned the loyalty of the leadership, and some even went on to suggest that these may be internal hit jobs. Then came Operation Sindoor, in which the Jaish headquarters at Bahawalpur was razed to rubble by the Indian armed forces.
In addition to scores of cadres, some of the closest family members of Masood Azhar were killed. Azhar stepped into the sidelines, and the outfit was left without an ideological mentor, and this added further to the big rift within the Jaish, an official said.
–IANS–
