“Terror Network Resurfaces Under ISI’s Benign Watch”, The Sunday Guardian, November 02, 2025
“Masood Azhar, the founder of Jaishe-Mohammed and a long-time asset of Pakistan’s military establishment, including the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), has re-emerged in public view after years of silence. His speeches and audio messages, now circulating through JeM-linked social-media channels, call for fresh recruitment and renewed jihad, including the creation of a women’s wing led by his sister Sadiya Azhar.
Intelligence officials believe the broadcasts are not meant solely for JeM’s followers but are deliberately designed to be noticed by Indian and Western observers—including journalists and analysts tracking South Asian militancy. “Both Jaish and its backers in Rawalpindi know exactly who is watching,” said a senior counter-terror official. “These messages are crafted as much for the enemy’s ears as for their own cadre.”
The tone and timing of these statements have drawn attention not only in India but also within Western intelligence circles, which see them as deliberate signalling rather than spontaneous rhetoric. According to security watchers, the reappearance of Azhar is being quietly permitted—if not outright facilitated—by Pakistan’s military and intelligence system. His sudden visibility coincides with a period of improving US-Pakistan ties, which, analysts say, gives Islamabad the confidence to tolerate the revival of an old proxy without fear of immediate diplomatic costs…….”
Read full article at psundayguardianlive.com
