JeM Resurgence: Terror Camps in Afghanistan Threaten Kashmir

A recent counter-terrorism operation in Afghanistan has revealed an alarming revival of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror network manifesting the mode of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in training of militants for operations in Kashmir. Initiated by Afghan forces, the raid took place in the Muhmand Dara region of Nangarhar province and brought to light a network of JeM training camps operating side by side with Taliban facilities.

Maulana Masood Azhar, the founder of JeM | image: TIH

The operation, which was carried out on April 13-14, began with the targeting of a suspected Taliban camp. However, after a fierce firefight, it was discovered that many of the dead were not Taliban but JeM operatives. Reports state that out of the fifteen dead, five were confirmed as Taliban and ten as JeM terrorists-in-training, bound for Jammu and Kashmir. One live JeM operative was taken prisoner and provided vital intelligence.

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Counter-terrorism agency sources in both Delhi and Kabul state that it appears JeM, founded by Masood Azhar, is also running some training facilities in Nangarhar province, working alongside Taliban camps. These camps designated "Khogyani I," "Khogyani II," and "Dargah," are strategically located within the province and are alleged to be in use with Taliban consent, probably in exchange for training Haqqani network members in JeM camps in Pakistan. Visual evidence, including photographs and video footage picked up by media, attests to the camps' existence and displays munitions that were confiscated.

Currently incapacitated due to health issues, Maulana Masood Azhar, the founder of JeM, is unable to keep his functions. In his place, his brother Mufti Rauf Asghar is the de facto leader of JeM. 

There is some intelligence that suggests Wali Azhar, Asghar's son, is being recruited and training in these camps in Afghanistan under the veteran militant Mufti Asghar Kashmiri, an ex-combatant of the Afghan War and a member of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.  

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Controlling matters for him is Abdullah, or Asadullah, who specializes in infiltration operations into Kashmir.  Photographs apparently show Kashmiri and Abdullah at the launch pads for terrorism located in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).  And, according to intelligence reports, some key camp figures include trainers and operatives from PoK and Pakistan.

The scale of these camps is also large: Khogyani I would be housing 23 cadres and 7 instructors; Khogyani II and Dargah have a combined total of 66 cadres, not counting their instructors and support staff.  The training regimen involves a 15-day basic course and is then followed by a three-month "Jundullah (commando)" program that is particularly rigorous.  

Training also incorporates jungle survival courses in the Kunar reserve in the area near the Nuristan border.  Adding to preparation yet again, tactical briefings are provided through miniatures of the area about infiltration points along the Line of Control (LoC).  Intelligence reports suggest that around 230 terrorists were trained right up for infiltrating India across the LoC.

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The timing of this JeM resurgence is particularly worrying with the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan looming and Taliban acting on the offensive.  Indian security planners fear that a takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban would grant Pakistan strategic depth to use it as a launching pad for terrorist attacks against India.  The new political situation in Afghanistan, thus, poses grave dangers to regional stability and has to be monitored very closely.