 "Why India should be concerned about Masood Azhar’s recent public appearance")
Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar has resurfaced and lectured a massive public gathering in Bahawalpur, after 21 years. Masood Azhar is a well-known face in Indian security circles. Having brought India and Pakistan twice on a verge of full-fledged war after the parliament attack (2001) and Pulwama attack (2019), every time he resurfaces, the ghost of IC 814 embarrassment haunts the Indian agencies.
On several occasions in the past, JeM released the audio tapes of his speeches, but many of them were his old speeches. What makes this one unique is the dreaded terrorist’s public appearance after nearly two decades. Masood Azhar is known for his fiery, provocative lectures, inspiring hundreds of terrorists. Hordes of Muslim youth inspired by his powerful speeches joined terrorist groups and ended themselves as suicide bombers. After a break away JeM faction tried to assassinate Gen Pervez Musharraf, the Pakistan Army tightened its noose on Masood Azhar barring him from giving public appearances. However, he never lost favour with his ISI benefactors and continues to be an invaluable asset.
According to the author’s informer interlocutors, the speech was delivered sometime in the second half of November 2024 at the Umm-ul-Qura seminary and the mosque compound outside Bahawalpur. In an hour-long speech, Masood Azhar vowed war on India and Israel. Beginning with the roaring slogans of Nara-e-Taqbeer, Masood urged the audience to join JeM in the restoration of Islamic caliphate. Incidentally, the Ottoman Caliphate was destroyed in 1924. It is difficult to say if Masood’s grand public appearance and lecture were deliberately planned to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the destruction of the Ottoman Caliphate.
The following are the extracts from his speech
“Fearful rulers who do not believe in the word of Allah and jihad have led us to defeat in Kashmir, Palestine and other Muslim lands… They say nothing can change, and America will rule the world… Three hundred and nine years may pass before things change, according to the Quran… God may will that things change only after a thousand years, and sometimes in minutes… I am ashamed that a weakling like Modi challenges us, or a mouse like Netanyahu dances on our graves… Tell me, are there not even 300 people who can fight to reclaim my Babri Masjid?… We will send you all to Kashmir with such powerful guns that all the television anchors will quiver… and ask where these weapons have come from… The great Afghan leader Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is wanted by the United States, told me he had a dream recently, where he saw his army marching to Palestine. When he arrived there, he saw Jaish-e-Mohammed was already there.”
Masood’s public appearance has made it amply evident that the Pakistan army continues to protect and support him. After the Pulwama attack, the Pakistan army claimed to have seized his Bahawalpur compound, but JeM has now built new buildings and expanded the Bahawalpur complex. In 2022, the Pakistan government stated that Masood had fled to Afghanistan. There were credible reports of Masood’s meeting with the Taliban leadership and the involvement of JeM cadres supporting the Taliban against the American forces. However, with this large public gathering organised in broad daylight by JeM, Pakistan’s claims of having no linkages or being unaware of Masood’s locations fall flat. Such a large public gathering cannot avoid the watchful gaze of the Pakistan army and in all likelihood, it cannot be organised without the tacit support of the generals. Also, Masood resurfacing makes it clear that the Pakistan army feigned distancing from Masood was just an eyewash, to put wool in the eyes of FATF and come out of its grey list.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsSecond, after the return of the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2021, Jaish cadres, mostly Afghan war veterans, have reportedly infiltrated into Kashmir with high-tech American night vision devices and M4 assault rifles. They are highly trained and battle-hardened cadres. The PAFF (People’s Anti-Fascist Force), which has executed some of the most lethal terrorist attacks in the recent past in J&K, is believed to be a Jaish proxy. In the light of the massive ongoing filtration of highly trained Jaish cadres in Kashmir, the thorough investigation of the recent speech of Masood becomes crucial.
Also, the widening communal fault lines, polarisation and radicalisation of the Indian Muslim youth offers a golden opportunity to Jaish to recruit cadres in the Indian hinterland and orchestrate terror attacks. Notably, Jaish always had pan-India ambitions. Even in this recent lecture he has referred to Babri mosque, which hardly leaves any doubt about JeM’s pan-India ambitions. Also, it must be mentioned that JeM’s linkages with the widespread Deobandi network in India and alignment with the pan-India objectives of Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISKP), can make JeM a more dangerous threat.
Interestingly, Masood had nurtured robust ties with Osama bin Laden who reportedly provided seed funding to JeM after Masood’s release. Osama also played a crucial role in division of the assets between JeM and its parent organisation Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. These old ties provide a strong base to JeM to strengthen its ties with AQIS and ISKP. Incidentally, the ISKP has many former Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters. The TTP comes from the same Deobandi extremist circuit from which JeM comes. Many cadres of TTP have a Jaish background.
Today, when AQIS and ISKP want to capitalise on the increasing radicalisation and polarisation of Indian Muslims, Masood’s lecture raises many questions about JeM’s intent, capabilities and plans to execute its pan-India ambitions. With its widespread network, JeM can facilitate the task of AQIS and ISKP. Hence, Masood’s resurfacing needs to be analysed in the context of the current radicalisation scenario in India and Masood’s long-term plans.
Lastly, Israel must not lose sight of the fact that Masood has made references to the ongoing Gaza war and equated Kashmir with Palestine. Most of the Kashmiri terrorist groups have always regarded Israel as an enemy of Islam, however, JeM’s intense hatred for Israel becomes a matter of concern because of its robust ties with groups like Al Qaeda. In the context of the recent lecture, the possibility of JeM targeting Israeli assets and individuals in India cannot be ruled out.
The author is a policy analyst specialising in counterterrorism, Indian foreign policy and Afghanistan-Pakistan geopolitics. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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