A deepening rift between Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the Pakistan Army is threatening to destabilise Islamabad's already fragile internal security architecture, according to Indian intelligence agencies. The fracture, which officials say accelerated after Operation Sindoor, has been further aggravated by US President Donald Trump's push for Pakistan to join the Abraham Accords framework — a demand Islamabad has publicly rejected.

How the Rift Began

For decades, the Lashkar-e-Taiba was regarded as the most compliant of Pakistan's strategic proxies — unlike the Jaish-e-Mohammed, which has on multiple occasions broken ranks with the establishment. That loyalty, according to Indian intelligence officials, is now fracturing. The turning point, officials say, came in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor, when LeT's leadership felt the establishment had failed to protect its cadres and facilities.

Tensions compounded when Islamabad pushed the outfit to align against the Afghan Taliban — a position LeT reportedly found ideologically untenable. The group was also said to have reluctantly agreed to join a coalition with the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) to counter the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) — an arrangement that sits uneasily with its core ideology.

The Abraham Accords Flashpoint

Pakistan has firmly stated it will not normalise relations with Israel until an independent Palestinian state is established. But Trump's insistence that Islamabad join the Abraham Accords framework has placed Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir in a particularly difficult position. According to officials, the newfound diplomatic proximity to Washington has not gone down well with Pakistan's hardline factions and terror outfits.

'Pakistan has a big problem to deal with after it was dragged in by the United States,' an official said. 'Not only will it have to deal with its own people who have always stood against Israel, but handling its terror proxies is going to be a nightmare.'

Qasoori's Open Challenge to the Establishment

The most visible sign of the rift is Saifullah Qasoori — a top LeT leader and, according to Indian officials, the alleged mastermind of the Pahalgam attack — who has openly threatened consequences for any Muslim nation that recognises Israel. In a public message directed at the Pakistan establishment, Qasoori stated that 'the Muslim world would never recognise Israel and whoever does so will be destroyed.' He further declared that Pakistan is the 'defence leader of the Muslim world' while Saudi Arabia is its 'spiritual and ideological leader' — a framing that implicitly binds Islamabad to a hardline anti-normalisation stance.

Officials note that Qasoori's remarks amount to an unprecedented public attempt by an LeT figure to dictate Pakistan's foreign policy direction.

A Divided Outfit, A Cornered Army

The internal split within LeT is now reportedly visible in the divergent behaviour of its leadership. The outfit's de facto chief, Talha Saeed, has been engaging with Pakistan's political class — reportedly meeting a close aide of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to discuss plans relating to Jammu and Kashmir. Qasoori, by contrast, is publicly challenging the establishment's geopolitical positions.

'These are signs of a clear rift, and in the days to come, it is only going to get worse,' an official said. Officials further noted that Field Marshal Asim Munir 'clearly did not sign up for this' and that both the ISI and the army face mounting pressure to answer for the shifting dynamics. The ISI's traditionally tight grip over LeT, officials warn, can no longer be taken for granted.

What Comes Next

Indian intelligence officials assess that the LeT-army rift will deepen as Trump continues to press Islamabad on the Abraham Accords. The terror group's leadership is expected to demand that the establishment take a more confrontational public stance against Israel — a demand that would further irritate Washington. Officials describe the situation as a compounding dilemma: the harder Pakistan pushes back against US pressure, the more it emboldens hardline factions; the softer it goes, the more it risks an internal blowback from the very proxies it has long relied upon.