Cash-strapped Jaish seeks blankets, coats, ₹6,400 donations for attacking India
What's the story
The Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed is seeking funds for a new "fidayeen" (suicide) attack against India, intelligence sources told NDTV. The group is reportedly asking for donations through digital platforms, including a Pakistani app called SadaPay. According to the insiders, they may also be planning an attack headed by women. Investigators have linked Jaish to the recent Delhi Red Fort car bomb blast in which 14 people were killed.
Women's involvement
Jaish's 'women's wing' involved in Red Fort blast
The group already has a "women's wing," headed by terror boss Masood Azhar's sister, Sadiya. One of the key suspects in the Red Fort blast, Dr. Shahina Saeed, codename "Madam Surgeon," is reportedly part of this unit called Jamat ul-Muminat. The group is asking for donations of 20,000 Pakistani rupees (around ₹6,400) to buy winter kits such as shoes, coats, woollen socks, mattresses, and tents, which terrorists may need before or after launching an attack.
Fundraising campaign
JeM's financial distress and fundraising efforts
The donation drive is seen as a sign of JeM's financial distress after Operation Sindoor, which destroyed its core infrastructure. The group had earlier attempted to raise PKR 3.91 billion for building new mosques and terror camps but these efforts were unsuccessful, TOI reported. Separately, Masood Azhar's son Hammad has been involved in cryptocurrency fundraising campaign for Gaza causes, a common tactic employed by proscribed groups to avoid global terror financing scrutiny and divert funds toward their larger operational objectives.
Financial crisis
Jaish's urgent need for liquidity in Kashmir valley
Observers note that "this multi-pronged and increasingly public appeal...confirms the organization's urgent need for liquidity, forcing it to beg for money for the day-to-day survival of its cadres in the Kashmir Valley." A top Intelligence Bureau officer earlier claimed that the Red Fort blast was purportedly carried out by Jaish under the orders of its chief, Maulana Masood Azhar. According to investigators, the Pakistan-based group had cultivated a network of radicalized doctors to carry out Pulwama-style suicide attacks in Delhi.