Country Reports on Terrorism 2016 - Foreign Terrorist Organizations: Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)
| Publisher | United States Department of State |
| Publication Date | 19 July 2017 |
| Cite as | United States Department of State, Country Reports on Terrorism 2016 - Foreign Terrorist Organizations: Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), 19 July 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5981e3d413.html [accessed 6 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
aka the Army of Mohammed; Mohammed's Army; Tehrik ul-Furqaan; Khuddam-ul-Islam; Khudamul Islam; Kuddam e Islami; Jaish-i-Mohammed
Description: Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on December 26, 2001. JeM was founded in early 2000 by former senior Harakat ul-Mujahideen leader Masood Azhar upon his release from prison in India in exchange for 155 hijacked Indian Airlines hostages. The group aims to annex the state of Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan and expel international forces from Afghanistan. JeM has openly declared war against the United States.
Activities: JeM has continued to operate openly in parts of Pakistan despite the country's 2002 ban on its activities. Since its founding, JeM has conducted many fatal terrorist attacks in the region. JeM claimed responsibility for several suicide car bombings in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, including an October 2001 suicide attack on the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly building in Srinagar that killed more than 30 people. The Indian government has publicly implicated JeM, along with Lashkar e-Tayyiba (LeT), in the December 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament that killed nine people and injured 18 others.
In 2002, Pakistani authorities arrested and convicted a JeM member for the abduction and murder of U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl. Pakistani authorities reportedly suspect that JeM members may have been involved in the 2002 anti-Christian attacks in Islamabad, Murree, and Taxila that killed two U.S. citizens. In December 2003, Pakistan implicated JeM members in two assassination attempts against then-President Pervez Musharraf. In December 2013, JeM threatened to kill Indian politician Narendra Modi if he were elected Prime Minister. In 2015, JeM launched three small-scale attacks targeting Indian army camps; approximately five to 10 people were killed in the attacks.
In 2016, Indian officials blamed JeM for a January attack on an Indian Air Force base in Pathankot. One civilian and seven Indian security force personnel were killed, and an additional 20 security force personnel were wounded in the strike. Also in January, JeM was suspected of conducting an attack on the Indian consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan. From February through May 2016, both LeT and JEM were suspected of engaging in at least three firefights with Indian security forces in Kupwara district, Jammu and Kashmir, injuring approximately two Indian personnel. In June 2016, it is unclear whether LeT or JEM were responsible for an ambush on an Indian security force convoy in Pulwama district, Jammu and Kashmir, killing eight and injuring 20. In December 2016, the Indian National Intelligence Agency announced that JeM leader Azhar and his brother, Rauf Asghar, were directly implicated in the attack.
Strength: JeM has at least several hundred armed supporters.
Location/Area of Operation: India, including the state of Jammu and Kashmir; Afghanistan; and Pakistan, particularly southern Punjab.
Funding and External Aid: To avoid asset seizures by the Pakistani government, since 2007 JeM has withdrawn funds from bank accounts and invested in legal businesses, such as commodity trading, real estate, and the production of consumer goods. JeM also collects funds through donation requests in magazines and pamphlets, sometimes using charitable causes to solicit donations.