Jaish-e-Mohammad seeks Rs 3.91 Cr under 'mosque drive' to rebuild terror base

Security officials say JeM is using pakistan’s digital wallets in family names to bypass FATF scrutiny, while projecting the campaign as mosque construction.

Jammu: After suffering severe setbacks during Operation Sindoor, Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror outfit has launched a massive fundraising drive in that country under the garb of building over 300 mosques to replicate Lashkar-e-Taiba’s decentralization policy, security officials said.

The JeM has come out with a new mechanism with the support of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to collect funds. It is using digital wallets like ‘EasyPaisa’ and ‘Sadapay’ controlled by its founder and most wanted terrorist Masood Azhar’s family members to bypass scrutiny by global agencies like the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the officials said citing inputs from across the border.

The Rs 3.91 billion fundraising drive would secure JeM’s operational and weapons financing for at least a decade, they said. Indian armed forces carried out missile strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the early hours of May 7 in retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack. Pakistan retaliated and the intense border skirmishes continued till May 10 before the two countries reached an understanding to end the hostilities. The officials said the JeM’s headquarters ‘Markaz Subhanallah’, along with four other training camps -- Markaz Bilal, Markaz Abbas, Mahmona Joya, and the Sargal training camp – were destroyed during the Operation Sindoor.

While Pakistan’s government has announced funding to rebuild these destroyed facilities, the JeM has launched an online fundraising campaign through digital wallets to collect Rs 3.91 billion for constructing 313 new markaz buildings under the garb of constructing mosques across Pakistan, the officials said.

On social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp, JeM-linked proxy accounts and those used by JeM commanders have posted posters, videos, and a letter from Masood Azhar, urging supporters to donate wholeheartedly as each mosque requires Rs 12.5 million (Rs 1.25 crore) for construction and smooth running, they said.

According to the officials, several of the digital wallet accounts were found linked to the mobile number of Azhar’s brother Talha Al Saif (Talha Gulzar) and JeM Haripur district commander Aftab Ahmad based in Khala Batt Township.

They said another fundraising channel was linked to a mobile number run by Azhar’s son Abdullah Azhar (Abdullah Khan) while in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, JeM commander Syed Safdar Shah is collecting donations for the organization’s markaz via a number registered near Melwarah post office, Oghi, Mansehra district.

In addition to these three accounts, over 250 EasyPaisa wallets are reportedly being used to raise funds for the JeM’s fundraising campaign. Alongside social media appeals, the terror outfit circulated an audio recording of Azhar’s brother, Al Saif, via its official propaganda channel, MSTD Official, urging supporters to contribute Rs 21,000 per person, the officials said.

The speech was delivered at a gathering at Markaz Usman-o-Ali during a Friday congregation on August 15. In the audio clip, Al Saif also instructed the establishment of 20 new markaz this year, as part of JeM’s overall target of 313 centres, the officials said citing JeM’s organizational posters and videos.

To build these mosques, the officials said the JeM may have two key motives -- first, to replicate LeT’s vast markaz network, decentralising its training camps so that future Indian strikes would have minimal impact on its terror infrastructure in Pakistan.

Second, to establish secure, lavish safe houses for Azhar and his family to allow Pakistan to maintain plausible deniability about their whereabouts, the officials said.

Under this plan, three-four large markaz centres would function as safe houses, medium-sized facilities would serve as training camps, and the remainder would handle logistics, allowing JeM to operate nationwide while Pakistan’s government continues to deny Azhar’s presence, they said.

While JeM claims each markaz will cost Rs 12.5 million, estimates suggest a Markaz Bilal-sized facility costs only Rs 4-5 million. Larger markaz like Subhanallah or Usman-o-Ali may cost around Rs 100 million, but it is unlikely all 313 will be this large.

If built, with three large markaz and 310 smaller ones, the total construction cost would be about Rs 1.23 billion (Rs 123 crore) leaving a large surplus for weapons purchases, the officials said.

Given JeM-Hamas-TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban) connections and leadership meetings, the officials said the surplus could be used to acquire advanced weaponry and maybe attack drones or quadcopters used by TTP.

It is widely known that Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI helps JeM procure arms cheaply from the black market, the officials said.

“Today, JeM’s arsenal already includes machine guns, rocket launchers, and mortars. Thus this Rs 3.91 billion campaign could heavily bolster its arms stockpile,” an official said.

In 2019, Pakistan was placed in grey list by the international watchdog working on blocking terror financing and accordingly, the Pakistani Government implemented the National Action Plan and presented to FATF that it had curbed JeM by taking its markaz under government control and placing JeM chief and his brother’s bank accounts under official watch, the officials said.

It also banned cash transactions, animal hide donations, and other forms of fundraising which resulted in Pakistan getting formally removed from FATF’s grey list in 2022.

Now, instead of donations going into bank accounts, the money is being transferred to the digital wallets used by Azhar’s family members and this way, Pakistan could falsely claim to FATF by showing only bank account details that JeM’s funding had been cut off, the officials said.