As soon as the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in the third week of August, the leader of Pakistan’s Jaish-e-Mohammed, Maulana Masood Azhar, went to Kandahar to ask for help in fomenting terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, sources claimed.
Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the chairman of the political committee, was among those Masood Azhar met with. Masood Azhar enlisted the aid of the Taliban in order to carry out JeM activities in Kashmir.
A few days prior to the Taliban’s “win” in Kabul, Masood Azhar praised the terror group for bringing down the “US-backed Afghan government.” On August 16, the JeM head praised the “success of mujahideen” in Afghanistan in a piece titled “Manzil Ki Taraf.”
JeM officials in its Markaz (headquarters) in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, are also exchanging messages congratulating each other on the Taliban’s triumph.
For those who follow Sunni Islam’s Deobandi school of thought, both the Taliban and Jaish-e-Mohammed are considered ideological comrades. In Jammu and Kashmir, since Masood Azhar was released in 1999, Jaish-e-Mohammed has carried out terrorist activities.
For the safety of passengers on the hijacked flight IC 814, Masood Azhar was released from an Indian jail. He was on his way to Lucknow from Kathmandu when he was kidnapped.
Later, the plane was flown to Kandahar in Afghanistan, where the Taliban ruled. Before long, they created a circle around the airbus, ensuring that they maintained control of the situation until the Indian government freed terrorists, including Masood Azhar, from captivity.
As a result of their prior links with Jaish-e-Mohammed, it has been speculated that the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan may lead to an increase in terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir. According to a Taliban statement, the Afghan land would not be utilized for terrorism against any country.