Jaish-e-Muhammad: Inside the Terrifying World of the Prophet’s Army

by Abhinav Pandya

English 490 pages 1 edition

Jaish-e-Muhammad, the Pakistan-supported South Asian terrorist group mainly active in India-Administered Kashmir, can be held single-handedly responsible for bringing India and Pakistan, two nuclear adversaries, to the verge of a full-fledged war twice. First, in 2001 when JeM attacked the Indian Parliament, and then in February 2019, after the Pulwama attack. This book examines JeM’s origins, ideology, organizational structure, financing, operational strategies and tactics, radicalization methods, fidayeen attacks and intelligence networks. JeM has pan-India ambitions and has strong ties with transnational terrorist groups such as the Al Qaeda, the IS-KP (Islamic State of Khorasan Province), the Taliban and the TTP (Tahreek-e-Taliban, Pakistan), which makes it a potential security threat for Western countries as well. This book is the first detailed and comprehensive study of JeM. Its rigorous field research includes extensive interviews with veteran intelligence and security professionals who have dealt with JeM since its inception, including two former chiefs of R&AW who were closely involved in diffusing the IC-814 plane hijacking and hostage crisis, which led to the release of Masood Azhar, the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen terrorist, who founded JeM, allegedly with the help of Pakistan and Al Qaeda. It delves into intelligence dossiers, charge sheets of case, and confidential intelligence reports on JeM. With the return of the Taliban to Afghanistan and JeM’s operational capabilities enhanced, this book is critical reading for a detailed understanding of the past, present and likely future of JeM.