Pathankot terror attack: Spurned and broken, Jaish-e-Mohammed was ISI’s trump card

NEW DELHI: As the ISI and Pak army escalated their attempts to target an Indian establishment outside J&K after PM Narendra Modi's stopover at Lahore, Jaish-e-Mohammed was not a surprise choice for them, say sources. At a time when movements of other groups like Lashkar-e--Toiba and Hafeez Saeed were being watched closely, Jaish proved to be ISI's trump card.

Not only was this a chance for the ageing outfit to prove themselves outside J&K, the outfit also had a personal agenda. Jaish's operations chief, Mufti Ashgar, was desperate to target India to avenge his brother's death, highly placed sources say. Ashgar's brother, Adil Pathan, abd his aide Chhota Burmi was gunned down by special operations group in south Kashmir mid October soon after which Ashgar had vowed to seek revenge, transcripts of conversations intercepted in the last two months, confirm.

After the killings of these two terrorists, Jaish had lost majority of its foothold in J&K and India. It was also under immense pressure from ISI and the Pak army to prove its worth. Sources say, the heads of the outfit viz Maulana Masood Azhar and Mufti Ashgar, were clearly instructed by ISI to execute a strike by first week of January.

Scores of intelligence sleuths have been tasked to re-analyze these conversations to understand what exactly transpired between ISI and Jaish -- two names which were presumed to be on different parallels in the past few years. ISI had literally withdrawn its support after Jaish aligned with al Qaida and even targeted Parvez Musharraf, twice. Musharraf had a close shave in both these attacks, sources recalled.

However, the outfit had been trying to mend bridges with ISI, of late, to co-exist. To prove that it was worth a second chance, Jaish had been trying to make its presence felt in J&K by carrying out multiple strikes this year. In one of the conversations, Azhar was apparently trying to reason with a major in ISI recalling how it had never failed the Pak army and the secret service right from the time it executed a strike at the Indian Parliament.

In the last week, there was a sudden surge in communications amongst Jaish members but J&K not Punjab was considered a possible target, sources say. Jaish members were apparently not willing to target Punjab and had instead offered to strike in Delhi. However, they were ready only when their objective was precisely briefed as the IAF base, its personnel and aircrafts.

Jaish's revival is being considered dangerous for Delhi and other metros. Unlike Lashkar and other outfits, Jaish's Fidayeens are far more organized, informed, equipped (e.g. they carry rations for days) and lethal. The agencies are hoping they can nip the outfit's fresh attempts in the bud.