Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), one of the terror outfits hardest hit during Operation Sindoor, has pivoted away from direct attacks and toward ideological mobilisation, according to multiple intelligence assessments. The shift, officials say, is being quietly backed by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) as a strategy to retain relevance while the group regroups.

JeM Goes Silent — But Its Ideology Spreads

Since Operation Sindoor, the JeM's leadership has maintained a prolonged public silence, with virtually no operational claims or significant activity reported for nearly a year. 'The leadership has remained quiet, and there has been hardly any significant activity reported for nearly a year now,' an official said.

Yet the outfit's name has surfaced in investigations into three major terror cases across India — in Faridabad, Gujarat, and West Bengal — with a telling pattern: accused individuals were inspired by JeM ideology but operated without direct organisational involvement.

Three Cases, One Common Thread

In Faridabad, members of the module that executed the Red Fort car bomb blast were found to have been inspired by JeM ideology, though the outfit had no direct operational role.

In Gujarat, the state's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested more than five persons who had conducted Improvised Explosive Device (IED) trials and were planning a major attack. All were reportedly inspired by JeM, with no direct link to the outfit's command structure.

In West Bengal, the Special Task Force (STF) arrested an operative identified as Hamim Mondal on charges of gathering sensitive information for the ISI and allegedly planning to assassinate West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Investigators found he too was inspired by the Jaish.

'The probe has not found any direct involvement of the Jaish-e-Mohammed in these cases. The accused were in contact with their handlers. While some appear to have acted on their own, others were directed to carry out specific activities. The common thread, however, is that the Jaish has been able to spread its ideology without being directly involved in the execution of these acts,' an Intelligence Bureau official said.

ISI's Calculated Deniability Strategy

Officials believe the pattern is not accidental. By relying on ideologically inspired modules rather than directly linked operatives, Pakistan can distance itself from attacks and retain operational deniability, according to assessments. The ISI is reportedly using individuals such as Shahzad Bhatti, described by officials as a specialist in recruitment, to push JeM ideology into India — primarily targeting young people through social media.

'Basically, its name remains in circulation, and for now that is good enough for the group,' an official noted. Incidents in India are likely to be exploited by the outfit as propaganda to revive recruitment and attract fresh cadres, officials warned.

Lashkar-e-Taiba Takes a Different Route

In contrast to JeM's dormancy, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) has been actively recruiting and conducting operations in collaboration with the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP). LeT has also shifted its training infrastructure closer to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, following the destruction of its main training facility at Muridke near Lahore during Operation Sindoor.

What Comes Next

Officials assess that JeM is likely to continue this ideological strategy for the foreseeable future — buying time to rebuild while keeping its brand alive through proxy radicalisation. The sharp decline in direct recruitment within Pakistan, a consequence of the outfit's post-Sindoor silence, makes the India-facing ideology push all the more critical to its long-term survival.