New Delhi, Aug 24 (IANS) The Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) is showing signs of resurgence and has tied up with the Al Qaeda in the Indian sub-continent. The outfit was relatively quiet post Operation Sindoor, but over the past few months, it has gradually rebuilt infrastructure and boosted its recruitment drives.
The Indian agencies have learnt that the Lashkar-e-Tayiba (LeT) would work alongside the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISK) while the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) would team up with the AQIS.
An Intelligence Bureau official says that the recent modules that have been busted show clear signs of a joint ideology of AQIS and Jaish-e-Mohammad. The JeM has been tapping into the bases of the AQIS in India, especially in the North Indian states.
While the JeM rebuilds capabilities to function fully in Jammu and Kashmir, the AQIS would boost cell creations in India to spread ideology, the official explained.
By teaming up with the AQIS, the Jaish-e-Mohammad has plans of carrying out various activities in India. One of the primary objectives is to engineer mass unrests in the country.
An official said that the India operatives do not act as one big group. They are scattered everywhere and just look like any random person. There are no files on these people and hence tracking them is a challenging task, the official said. These persons just move around in crowds, study other people and look for issues which could be converted into mass unrest or uprisings, the official said.
It is a deliberate strategy by the ISI, whereby both these terror groups could use each others’ resources and work towards a common goal, the official explained.
The Jaish-e-Mohammad and AQIS are also in the process of reaching out to such random persons in Jammu and Kashmir so that targeted killings of non-locals and Kashmiri Pandits can be carried out. As part of the Jammu and Kashmir strategy, the Jaish-e-Mohammad is also working with the Lashkar-e-Tayiba when it comes to executing fedayeen strikes.
For the larger terror operations, the Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Tayiba are attempting joint infiltrations so that they could execute their jungle strategy. The terrorists who infiltrate into J&K stay put in the forests until they are given instructions to attack. The same strategy was implemented before the execution of the Pahalgam attack.
Another official said that the mass unrest plan is far more dangerous. The individuals that have been picked up by these terror groups are told to move around normally in a society and identify persons who would be willing to execute the plan. The idea is to set up smaller cells which do not comprise more than two to three persons. These cells are not meant to carry out the run of the mill terror strikes such as blasts or targeting killings.
They are meant to radicalise people and then instigate them into the disturbing peace and harmony in a society. These terror groups realise that a mass uprising or unrest will have a much deeper impact on the Indian security mechanism. It would be very challenging for the security agencies to curb such incidents especially if they are planned simultaneously across the major states in India, the official explained. While law and order would be disturbed such incidents also create a wide divide within society.
A similar kind situation is being experienced in Europe. There are radicalised individuals who instigate the public to indulge in protests and incidents of violence.
Officials say that the Jaish-e-Mohammad is not working along with the AQIS only in India. The AQIS also has a strong base and connect in Bangladesh also. The two groups are working on a similar strategy, and this is aimed at targeting states such as West Bengal and the ones that are part of North-East.
It is a multi-pronged strategy whereby the ISI has unleashed the Jaish-e-Mohammad and AQIS to keep India on the boil on all fronts, the official also said.
–IANS
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