A dossier handed over by India to Pakistan mentions nine specific instances, in the past two years, when Jaish-e Mohammad (JeM) was conducting rallies and religious congregations to recruit men to the terror outfit.
India said these activities were conducted “right under the nose of the Pakistani establishment,” even though it was banned by the Pakistani authorities in 2002.
On Islamabad’s list
The outfit still features at serial number 3 in the list of 67 terror organisations proscribed by Pakistan’s Ministry of Interior published on the website of National Counter Terrorism Authority.
The Ministry of External Affairs said on Wednesday that a dossier was handed over to Pakistan with “specific details of JeM complicity in Pulwama terror attack and the presence of JeM terror camps and its leadership in Pakistan.”
“The information about these activities of JeM are available in open source platforms like blogs, websites, Facebook and Twitter. Many of the posts openly declare association of JeM with terror attacks in India,” said a senior government official.
The dossier said on February 20, 2018, JeM concluded a six-day congregation in Lahore when its “Shoba-e-Taaruf” (Department of Introduction) delegation held 13 interactive sessions in which 700 people, including 65 ‘Ulemas’ (Religious Scholars), participated.
“During these interactions, around 30 people expressed their desire to take part in JeM training course — Daura-e-Tarbia. The participants showered praise on organizational activities of JeM and the role played by its chief Masood Azhar,” it said.
JeM’s propaganda blog A l Qalam claimed that its ‘Mujahideen’ carried out a “suicide attack” on February 10, 2018 at the Army’s Sunjuwan camp in Jammu where five Army officers were killed.
The blog claimed that the attack was a gift for “Modi government” on the occasion of the death anniversary of 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and also for keeping its chief Masood Azhar in captivity when he was arrested in Kashmir in 1994. He was exchanged for release of hijacked passengers of Indian Airlines IC 814 in 1999. Afzal Guru was hanged on February 9, 2013. The dossier said the JeM claimed on its website that “revenge’ operations launched by the Afzal Guru Shaheed Squad continue in Kashmir.”
The dossier said that on March 27, 2018, a four-day congregation was organized by JeM in Sialkot district spanning over 17 sessions in which 1500 people, including 50 Ulemas (Religious Scholars), participated. “They (participants) appreciated the religious services rendered by Masood Azhar and prayed for JeM’s ‘Mujahideen’. The delegation held five separate sessions with JeM activists, which were attended by 28 Ulemas and activists,” it said.
Apart from this, posters and banners of training courses offered by JeM regularly appeared from February 3, 2018 to March 30, 2018 at Markaz Sharif, Bahawalpur, Jama Masjid Rashidiya in Karachi and Madrasa Sanan bin Salma in Peshawar. Bahawalpur is the headquarters of JeM.
On November 27, 2017, JeM organized a conference - Ghazwa-e-Hind (Holy War Against India) in district Okara that was attended by over 2,000 people, the dossier said. It was addressed by Abdul Rauf Asghar, the brother of Masood Azhar. One of the participants Qari Naveed Masood Hashmi wrote on Al Qalam that the “courage of Masood Azhar had inspired the continuation of jihad against Indian Army in Kashmir in accordance with the guidance of Prophet Muhammad.”
