Recent developments across the world suggest that terror groups are becoming extremely isolated in the wake of retaliation like never before by the security forces.
The way in which terror groups have been beaten down in Palestine and J&K are clear indicators that the war on terror means serious business for the security forces.
While outfits such as the Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Tayiba have been battered at the hands of the Indian security forces, for the Hamas the nemesis has been Israel’s IDF.
In J&K post the abrogation of Artcle 370 the entire perception changed, and security forces had a free hand to beat down terror groups. For the Hamas the October 2023 terror attack on Israel proved to be costly. Israel went on a rampage while targeting Hamas. Today the situation is even more tough for the Hamas considering Donald Trump is now US President and his views about the terror outfit are well known.
With these terror groups feeling isolated, a new order has come together to forge a united and a stronger unit. This order comprises Hamas, Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.
A new terror order
The announcement about these terror groups pledging to fight together was made at an event called ‘Kashmir Solidarity and Hamas Operation ‘Al Aqsa Flood’ Conference’ held at the Shaheed Sabir Stadium in Rawalakote.
A member of the Jaish-e-Mohammad announced that the Mujahideen of Palestine and Mujahideen of Kashmir have now united. The operative also said that the time had come to shed blood in Delhi and also separate Kashmir from India.
The announcement was made on February 5 which is observed by Pakistan as Kashmir Solidarity Day. During the meeting several operatives of the Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Tayiba were present. Dr. Khalid Al-Qadoumi, the representative of the Hamas in Iran too was present. Further the gathering also saw the presence of several Palestinians as well.
Desperate times, desperate measures
The security agencies are watching these developments closely. For now, these groups have pledged to fight together. This collaboration will see Palestinian terrorists fighting in Jammu and Kashmir.
Operatives of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad too would join the Hamas in their battle against the United States and Israel.
A lot would depend on how the ISI manages this new grouping. In the past one has seen that the ISI does not let terror groups take a call on their own and battle at the place of their choice. For instance, the Mumbai 26/11 attack was originally planned by Ilyas Kashmiri of the 313 Brigade of the Al-Qaeda.
However, the ISI stepped in and persuaded Kashmiri to give up that plan. The ISI then tasked the Lashkar-e-Tayiba with the operation. The signal was that the ISI did not want an Al-Qaeda presence in India. It has made it clear that only fighters of the Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Hizbul Mujahideen would battle in J&K. Given this history it would be interesting to see how the ISI manages this grouping.
However, for the three terror groups these are desperate times. It is more of a grouping that was formed for the sake of convenience and to signal a show of strength. After facing heavy losses at the hands of the security agencies, their cadres are highly demoralised. Hence a grouping of this nature was important for them to signal to their cadres that they are forming one strong unit.
Trouble on the Afghan border
With a new grouping being formed the security agencies would have to come up with a newer strategy. While the security forces deal with this, there is a new headache that is brewing along the Afghanistan border with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
Following the developments in Syria which, there has been a resurgence of the radical Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. This development led to a meeting of the Taliban and the special forces of Uzbekistan.
The primary agenda of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan is to topple secular and democratically elected governments in the region. This group has several of its operatives in Afghanistan and this has caused a great deal of concern for the security officials.
Both New Delhi as well as the Taliban would want to see the end of this group. If this group successfully manages to operate in Afghanistan, then not only does it pose a security risk to Kabul, but to New Delhi as well. Peace in Afghanistan is absolutely necessary for the region.
The ISI was quick to seize upon this opportunity. Pakistan has had a falling out with the Taliban. A delegation of the ISI met with anti-Taliban Afghan political figures such as Abdul Rashid Dostum, Salahuddin Rabbani, Mohammad Mohaqiq and Abdul Ram Rasul Sayyaf. The meeting that took place in Istanbul explored the possibility of joining hands to beat down the Taliban. Further the ISI would also look to use the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan to battle against the Taliban which in recent times has grown closer to India.
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