Pathankot Attack: The Rise Of Jaish-e-Muhammad

Hundreds gathered this New Year’s Eve at a seminary in Dera Ismail Khan, on the west bank of the Indus, to spend the evening listening to disquisitions on the life of the Prophet Muhammad. There was a student debate on the lessons of the Quranic era battle of Uhud, and eulogies for jihadists from the city who had been killed in Kashmir. Then, a videotape of the event shows, the Jaish-e-Muhammad jihad commander whose men were just then making their way across the Punjab border to attack the Pathankot airbase, delivered a mocking promise. “People threatening to snatch away jihad from us can’t even snatch away your wooden toothbrush,” said Abdul Rauf Azhar, the military chief of the Jaish, and brother to Maulana Masood Azhar. For more than five years, intelligence services across the world have warily watched the rebirth of the Jaish-e-Muhammad — documented in video, audio and published material obtained by The Indian Express. - See more