Crippled by losses, Jaish-e-Mohammed turns to aggressive digital propaganda to survive
New Delhi: Facing an existential crisis after sustaining crippling losses under India's targeted counter-terrorism offensive, Operation Sindoor, the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) has pivotally shifted to an aggressive digital propaganda campaign. Intelligence officials indicate that the group is desperate to maintain its relevance, prevent its remaining cadres from splintering, and aggressively rebuild a dwindling support base.
While fellow Pakistan-sponsored outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) has shown signs of a gradual command restructuring and fresh infiltration attempts, JeM has largely failed to recover at a similar pace.
An Intelligence Bureau official revealed that communication intercepts point to a heavily coordinated digital push with a dual agenda.
"The campaign has two objectives -- to radicalise a large number of youth both in India and Pakistan, and to remain relevant so that the cadres do not move away," the official said.
ISI-backed strategy to bypass border security
Historically recognised as one of the most brutal proxy outfits operating against India, JeM has found its field operations severely choked. A suffocating security grid within Jammu and Kashmir, combined with strict anti-infiltration measures along the Line of Control, has left the outfit unable to launch major physical strikes.
In response to this paralysis, JeM—operating under direct guidance from Pakistan's ISI—is falling back on psychological warfare. Security officials state that the digital push will heavily feature radical literature alongside highly sophisticated doctored videos designed to malign the Indian Government and the Indian Armed Forces. Specifically, these fabricated clips will falsely depict human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir.
The strategy is multi-tiered. For a domestic audience within India, the fake media aims to manipulate and radicalise vulnerable youths into forming localised, homegrown terror cells. Within Pakistan, the exact same material will be weaponised as a recruitment tool to convince local youth to join the group's flagging cross-border campaign.
Leadership missing and headquarters deserted
Intelligence experts emphasise that JeM is currently navigating its most severe operational vacuum to date. The prolonged silence from its top brass is a direct fallout of Operation Sindoor, which completely upended the group's structural hierarchy.
Questions continue to mount over the location and status of JeM chief Masood Azhar. While intelligence sources confirm that the group has managed to physically rebuild its flattened 'Markaz Subhan Allah' headquarters in Bahawalpur, actual operational activity inside the compound remains incredibly low.
Before India's retaliatory strikes—which were launched to avenge a previous terror attack in Pahalgam—the Bahawalpur facility housed over 600 active fighters and top commanders. Today, those numbers have drastically plummeted. To avoid the crosshairs of Indian intelligence, the surviving top-tier leadership has reportedly been moved closer to regular Pakistani military installations for physical protection.
Azhar himself has completely abandoned his visits to the Bahawalpur headquarters as a deliberate survival tactic. Officials privy to the data note that since several of his top close aides were neutralized in the Indian offensive, Azhar has remained entirely incommunicado, with secondary inputs suggesting he may also be suffering from a severe, debilitating illness.