Formed in 2000, Jaish-e-Muhammad (JEM or Army of Muhammad) is a Pakistain-based gang that aims to undermine and overthrow Indian control over Indian-administered Kashmire through attacks on security and government targets.
The group was founded by Masood Azhar, who previously fought under the banner of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and has been linked to al-Qaeda.
Azhar founded JeM after he was released from Indian custody in 1999, in exchange for more than 150 hostages held on an Indian Airlines flight that had been hijacked and diverted to Kandahar in Afghanistan.
Azhar is said to have formed JeM with the support of then-al-Qaeda chief the late Osama bin Laden
... who used to be alive but now he's not...and the Afghan Taliban
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
, according to the United Nations
...a formerly good idea gone bad...
The group is said to have actively supported the Afghan Taliban's fight against US-led NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
forces since 2001.
JeM has carried out several high-profile suicide and other attacks against Indian targets since its formation.
Notably, in 2001 it was implicated in attacks on the legislative assembly building in Indian-administered Kashmire and on the Indian parliament in New Delhi. More than 50 people were killed in the two attacks.
JEM OUTLAWED IN PAKISTAIN
Azhar was tossed in the clink
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
by Pak authorities for his alleged involvement in the parliament attack, but was released a year later after a court ruled authorities had presented inadequate evidence against him.
Pakistain outlawed the JeM as a "terrorist organization" in 2002, prompting the group to target Pakistain, twice unsuccessfully attempting to assassinate then-Pak President
Pervez PervMusharraf
... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ...
in 2003.
In 2016, Pakistain once again detained Azhar, after India alleged JeM was responsible for an attack on an Indian airbase in the town of Pathankot, killing at least six people.
Later that year, JeM was linked to an attack on an Indian security forces base at Uri, killing 19 people.
On Thursday, JeM grabbed credit for a suicide attack that killed at least 42 Indian soldiers in the Indian-administered Kashmire town of Pulwama, the worst such attack on Kashmiri soil.
A senior police officer, who works with counterinsurgency department of India-administered Kashmire, said that in the last two years, the gang has suffered a setback in south Kashmire such as Pulwama and Tral due to the counterinsurgency operations.
"JeM is not only on a revival mode by carrying out such high-value attacks, but it also nurtures pan India Islamist goals," he said on condition of anonymity.
Azhar's current whereabouts remain unknown having not been formally charged by Pakistain with a crime nor making public appearances since his detention.
China, a key Pak ally, continues to block his listing on a United Nations sanctions list, a long-standing Indian request.