Jaish-e-Mohammed' (Arabic:جيش محمد, literally The Army of Muhammad, transliterated as Jaish-e-Muhammed, Jaish-e-Mohammad or Jaish-e-Muhammad, often abbreviated as JEM) is a major Islamic militant organization in South Asia. Jaish-e-Mohammed was formed in 1994 and is based in India and Pakistan. The group's primary motive is to end India's rule in Kashmir and have carried out a series of attacks all over India as well as within Pakistan itself.[1][2]
The group was formed after the supporters of Maulana Masood Azhar split from another Islamic militant organization, Harkut-ul-Mujahideen. The group is regarded as a terrorist organization by several countries including Pakistan, United States and United Kingdom.Vorlage:Ref Jaish-e-Mohammed is viewed by some as the "deadliest" and "the principal terrorist organization in Jammu and Kashmir".[3] The group was also implicated for the kidnapping and murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl.[4]
Formation
There is much speculation and uncertainty as to the origins of this group. The Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) is a relatively new militant outfit, compared to other major outfits active in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). Like the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), the JeM too is an outfit formed, controlled and manned by an eclactic group of hardcore personalities that have in common that they all spent time in Indian jails. It has been speculated that the group may have been formed by turning former Kashmiri rebel group activist(s), who were often tortured and abused in Indian jails and then released with the promise to malign the independence movement in Indian controlled Kashmir and to faciliate the propoganda war against Pakistan being propogated by India's intelligence agency RAW by allowing these militants to return to Pakistan and carry out terrorist activitie. The outfit was launched on January 31, 2000, by Maulana Masood Azhar after he was released by the Government of India from their jails during a hostage swap of December 31, 1999, following the hijacking of the Indian Airlines Flight IC 814. After being released from Indian jails, Maulana Masood Azhar surprised everyone including the government of Pakistan by showing up in that countries port city of Karachi, where he held a press conference declaring war and threatening militant attacks much to the embarrassement and dissaproval of the Pakistani Government and the people of the country who were hoping for a peaceful end to the hijacking drama. After his press conference, Maulana Masood Azhar dissapeared and was believed to be hiding in the porous mountainous regions of Kashmir between India and Pakistan where he was successfully able to evade Pakistan's security forces. The hijacked flight had initially tried to land in Pakistan but the authorities there refused permition, forcing the plane to then travel to then Taliban controlled Afghanistan. At the time, the Taliban themselves where quite baffled as to what to do with the hijackers as they had never had any contact with them prior to this occasion.
The outfit’s creation can be linked to the popularity surrounding Masood Azhar after his release from India. Maulana Masood Azhar was the general secretary of the newly established Harkat-ul-Ansar (HuA) in 1994 and was on a 'mission' in J&K when he was arrested on February 11. When he was released, the HuA had been included in the US list of Foreign Terrorist Organisations which had compelled the outfit to rename itself as the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM). However, Masood Azhar decided to float the new outfit JeM rather than rejoin his old outfit.
Objectives
Vorlage:Terrorist organisations active in India The Jaish-e-Mohammed is part of the Islamist network with its many bases in South Asia including within Pakistan and India; and active in the terrorist violence in J&K. The outfit, like other militant outfits in J&K, claims to using violence to force a withdrawal of Indian security forces from J&K. The outfit claims that each of its newly established offices would serve as schools of jihad. Delivering speeches at various cities and towns in Pakistan after his release, Masood Azhar threatened that the outfit would eliminate Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee who he termed as 'Abu Jahl’ (Father of Ignorance). In its fight against India, he added that the outfit would not only "liberate" Kashmir, but also would take control of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, Amritsar and Delhi. Why a Kashmiri militant group would profess such sensational objectives further fuels speculations and confusions as to the groups real intentions. Since his release from Indian jails and the formation of this group, the militant outfit has managed to embarass and antagonize the Pakistani government on several occasions making some believe that this group may actually be funded and supported from abroad, principally India's RAW Intelligence agency. The agency has in the past propped up and established several militant groups of its own, often to malign the independence movement in Kashmir or as a means of acquiring new intelligence tips by turning militants only to send them back into the field for intelligence gathering. If allegations on this groups intention prove true, this will be the first time a group has been established for the mere intention of defamming another nation. The July 2007 Red Mosque assault primarily involved members of Jaish-e-Mohammed, in which the government of Pakistan sent commando's in to flush out militants holed up in there. Many prominent journalist and government officials believe that the group has been involved in more terrorist activity within the country of Pakistan outside of Kashmir, and hav
Leadership and Command Structure
Masood Azhar, the Amir (chief) of the outfit was arrested by Pakistani security forces on December 29, 2001, after being tracked down by the countries intelligence and police security forces. However, a three-member Review Board of Lahore High Court ordered on December 14, 2002, that Azhar be released.
There are no reports of any formal governing bodies or councils within the outfit. Unconfirmed reports indicate that the prominent office bearers of the organisation include:
- Maulana Masood Azhar – Amir
- Maulana Qari Mansoor Ahmed – Nazim Propaganda Wing (he is a resident of Bhurewala, Punjab)
- Maulana Abdul Jabbar – Nazim, Military Affairs (Former Nazim military affairs, (HuM)
- Maulana Sajjad Usman – incharge, Finance (Former HuM Nazim Finance)
- Shah Nawaz Khan alias Sajjid Jehadi & Gazi Baba – Chief Commander J&K (Former Supreme Commander HuM, J&K)
- Maulana Mufti Mohd. Asghar – Launching Commander (Former Launching Commander of HuM)
Operational Strategies
Most Jaish-e-Mohammed attacks have been described as suicide terrorist attacks. In this mode, militant of the outfit storm a high security target, including security forces' bases, camps and convoys. After storming, they either fortify themselves within the target, killing as many security force personnel and civilians as possible before they are killed by retaliatory action. In other cases, they kill and injure as many as possible before attempting to escape.
Area of Operation
The Jaish-e-Mohammed has largely confined its operations within J&K. The only recorded instance of its operations outside J&K has been the December 13, 2001, Parliament attack in New Delhi which has yet to be confirmed. However, several of its cadre have, on occasions been arrested or killed by security forces in states other than J&K. The group is known to have several recruiting centres and support networks spread all across India particularly in Muslim slum regions of India's primary cities.
External Linkages
The outfit is closely linked, through the Binoria Madrassah in Karachi, with the former Taliban regime of Afghanistan and its protégé, Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda. JeM chief, Masood Azhar was released by Indian authorities in India and has reportedly met Taliban and Al Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan on various occasions.
The JeM is also reported to have established contacts with militant outfits operating in Bangladesh, Pakistan and India such as the Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ).