Indian intelligence agencies have now warned that they have information that Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) is planning to target Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, The Times of India reported.
JeM is a UN-designated terror organisation, and its primary motive is to separate Kashmir from India and merge it with Pakistan. Since its inception in 2000, the group has carried out several attacks in Kashmir, including the suicide attack on Indian troops in Pulwama on 14 February which killed 40 servicemen.
The Times of India quoted intelligence sources as claiming that JeM is readying a squad to target Modi and Doval to get revenge for Kashmir being stripped of its special status.
News Agency ANI, citing intelligence agencies, has reported that a JeM module of 8-10 terrorists would possibly try to carry out a suicide attack on Air Force bases in and around Jammu and Kashmir
Top government sources: Intelligence agencies have issued warning against a module, of 8-10 Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists, which will possibly try to carry out a suicide attack against Air Force bases in and around Jammu and Kashmir. pic.twitter.com/dKDrFdDQ0w
— ANI (@ANI) September 25, 2019
Ahead of Imran Khan’s visit to the United States to attend the UN General Assembly session, he had warned terrorists against spreading violence in Kashmir, saying the Indian authorities were waiting for “any excuse” to crack down on the residents of Kashmir.
Tension between the two nuclear-armed nations escalated after India carried out an aerial strike in Balakot inside Pakistan to destroy alleged terrorist facilities operated by JeM. The attack was to avenge the killing of Indian security personnel in Pulwama.
On 27 February, Pakistan retaliated in a tit-for-tat response to India’s pre-dawn strike and shot down an Indian fighter jet in a dogfight; an F-16 operated by the Pakistan Air Force was also shot down, according to the IAF.
The tension resurfaced in the first week of the August after New Delhi revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status. Reacting to India's move on Kashmir, Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties with India and expelled the Indian high commissioner. Islamabad also suspended trade and communications with New Delhi and mounted a diplomatic offensive.
