Hiding chiefs, broken trust: Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed cadres turn on their leaders post Ops Sindoor

New Delhi, Nov 3 (IANS) The Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed were left reeling during Operation Sindoor. The ISI has since made several attempts to revive these groups and put them back into business. However, both groups, despite having men at their disposal, are failing to bounce back because their chiefs have gone into hiding.

Masood Azhar, the head of the Jaish-e-Mohammed, is a depressed man after he lost a good chunk of his family during Operation Sindoor. During the precise action undertaken by the Indian armed forces, the Jaish-e-Mohammed’s Bahawalpur headquarters was hit and razed to rubble. Azhar’s family members who were present at the facility were killed during the operation.

Hafiz Saeed’s Lashkar-e-Taiba, which also suffered major damage during the operation, is also finding it hard to operate. Saeed has gone into hiding, and Indian Intelligence Bureau officials say that he fears that someone from within may try and eliminate him.

There is growing discontent within both outfits following Operation Sindoor. Many within the outfits question why they are left out in the open while the heads get all the protection directly either from the ISI or the Pakistan Army. They also question the silence from their heads following the operation. Many feel that people like Saeed and Azhar look out only for themselves and their families. When it comes to their foot soldiers, they do not look out for them.

Many within the outfits are asking questions about whether Jihad and death are only reserved for them and not for the top leaders. They cite examples of Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the operational commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, who continues to live in high-security locations.

Moreover, Lakhvi has not been seen for several years, and this has raised questions in the minds of the cadres. In the case of Jaish-e-Mohammed, the cadres were initially understanding after Azhar lost his family. However, his prolonged absence has become increasingly frustrating for the cadres.

They have begun to realise that the videos of Azhar being passed off as recent ones are, in reality, old. All these developments have caused immense discontentment within the ranks, officials say.

While Operation Sindoor broke the backs of these two outfits, the developments in Afghanistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have angered the cadres as well. Both the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed only toe the line of the army or ISI. Most of the cadres are unable to understand why these two outfits are silent about the Pakistan government’s stance on the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or the Afghan Taliban.

The airstrikes in Afghanistan and the fight against the TTP have not gone down well with the cadres of most terror groups. They are questioning the logic of battling the Taliban when the actual battle ought to be against India and the Western forces.

In recent months, Pakistan has cozied up to the United States, a country that both the cadres of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed view as an enemy. This bonhomie, which has been a problem for these groups in the past, has once again resurfaced and has not gone down well with many within the ranks of these terror groups.

Neither the army nor the ISI would want to see these groups going down or face a rift within. This is because they are the most trusted proxies. However, both institutions are busy with the Afghan Taliban, TTP, and the Balochistan Nationalist Army (BLA).

In the battle against the three, the army has faced severe losses. An official says that the army is too busy protecting itself and hence has no time to help revive its two most important proxies. This explains so many failed infiltration bids into Jammu and Kashmir. While operations are hit and the ISI may look to revive them, what it would find tough is boosting the morale of the cadre. Currently, it is not just the morale of the cadres that is down, but even the trust factor in the leadership is almost invisible.

–IANS

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