New Delhi: Masood Azhar, the founder of Jaishe-Mohammed and a long-time asset of Pakistan’s military establishment, including the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), has re-emerged in public view after years of silence. His speeches and audio messages, now circulating through JeM-linked social-media channels, call for fresh recruitment and renewed jihad, including the creation of a women’s wing led by his sister Sadiya Azhar.
Intelligence officials believe the broadcasts are not meant solely for JeM’s followers but are deliberately designed to be noticed by Indian and Western observers—including journalists and analysts tracking South Asian militancy. “Both Jaish and its backers in Rawalpindi know exactly who is watching,” said a senior counter-terror official. “These messages are crafted as much for the enemy’s ears as for their own cadre.”
The tone and timing of these statements have drawn attention not only in India but also within Western intelligence circles, which see them as deliberate signalling rather than spontaneous rhetoric. According to security watchers, the reappearance of Azhar is being quietly permitted—if not outright facilitated—by Pakistan’s military and intelligence system. His sudden visibility coincides with a period of improving US-Pakistan ties, which, analysts say, gives Islamabad the confidence to tolerate the revival of an old proxy without fear of immediate diplomatic costs.
The content of Azhar’s recent messages is explicit. He urges supporters to “re-awaken the spirit of jihad,” praises JeM’s fallen fighters, and outlines new training programmes under a scheme called Daurae-Taskiya. The establishment of the women’s wing, Jamaat-ul-Mominaat, is being read by Indian and Western agencies as a move to expand recruitment networks and evade detection through new channels.
For India, the concern is not abstract. Intelligence reports over the past few months have flagged rising JeM propaganda activity online and the reactivation of funding routes via informal digital-wallet systems and crypto-based hawala chains. A JeM commander’s recent admission that Azhar’s family suffered heavy casualties in the Indian cross-border strikes of May 2025—known as Operation Sindoor—has added a personal motive for retaliation.
Counter-terror watchers say the combination of grievance, revived propaganda, and apparent tolerance from Pakistan’s security establishment raises the probability of a fresh terrorist attempt against Indian interests. “Intent is clearly present,” said a retired Indian intelligence official. “The infrastructure for carrying out operations is also there, just that it has been moved from one place to the other. The only open question is whether Pakistan’s military will let JeM cross the line from signalling to action.”
Others caution that the revival might be more about theatre than actual preparation for an attack. According to a Western diplomatic source monitoring South Asia, Pakistan may be allowing limited noise from Azhar to remind both India and domestic audiences of its latent leverage, while stopping short of authorising a major operation that could jeopardise its ongoing rapprochement with Washington. “It’s sabre-rattling with plausible deniability,” the source said.
The Pakistani state has always maintained public denials of any association with Jaish-e-Mohammed, despite the group’s operational base in Bahawalpur remaining largely untouched by enforcement. Each time international pressure mounts, Islamabad formally bans the outfit; each time the focus shifts, JeM resumes its activity under new fronts. The pattern has held steady since Pulwama 2019.
Indian security officials describe the current situation as a “raised threat window.” They expect increased recruitment and reconnaissance by JeM operatives through the winter months, even if no immediate large-scale strike follows. Analysts also underline the international dimension. “Pakistan is testing how much it can get away with under the cover of improved relations with the US,” said a South Asia researcher based in London. “If Washington remains focused on broader regional stability, it might overlook the re-activation of a proxy like JeM—at least until there’s an attack.”
The fact that no hard action was taken by Western entities against Pakistan after the Pahalgam massacre has, in a way, emboldened the Pakistan military leadership. The renewed space being granted to Masood Azhar reflects a familiar calculation: let the message travel far, let it be heard in Delhi and in the West—and let everyone know it could become more than talk.
