2000–2001 On 20 April 2000, JeM carried out the first suicide bombing in Kashmir, exploding a bomb in an Indian army barracks. Five Indian soldiers were killed. Following the
September 11 attacks in the United States, the
Musharraf government joined the United States in the
war on terror, assuming that the move would give it a free hand in supporting militancy in Kashmir. In October 2001, JeM carried out a
bombing near the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly, killing 38 people and claiming responsibility for it. In December 2001, JeM and LeT militants launched a
fidayeen attack on the
Indian Parliament waging a battle with the security personnel. Security specialist
Bruce Riedel comments that even by the standards of modern terrorism, this was an extraordinary attack. If the Prime Minister or a senior party leader of India was killed in the attack, India would have been forced to retaliate militarily. In the event, India called the terror attack an "attack on democracy" and began
large-scale troop mobilisation at the India-Pakistan border, launching the largest war games in fifteen years. Pakistan retaliated by launching its own war games, moving troops from the Afghan border to the Indian border. The United States, annoyed with the dilution of the war on terror as well as the threat of an Indo-Pakistani war, delivered an ultimatum to Musharraf, asking him to make "a clear statement to the world that he intends to crack down on terror". Pushed to a corner, Musharraf announced on 12 January 2002 that no organisation would be allowed to indulge in terrorism in the name of Kashmir. He declared a ban on five extremist groups including the JeM. Hundreds of militants were rounded up, states Ahmed Rashid, giving rise to severe hostility and derision from them. However, by March 2002, all the arrested militants were freed and curbs on them were quietly lifted. Financial and intelligence inputs to JeM were resumed. Masood Azhar was released under a court order.
Bans, revolts and split Earlier in 2001, when the group anticipated that the US State Department would declare it a foreign Islamic jihadist organisation, it renamed itself
Tehrik-ul-Furqan and transferred its assets to low-profile supporters. JeM was declared a foreign Islamic jihadist organisation by the United Nations in October 2001 and by the US in December 2001. In response to the January 2002 ban by Pakistan, JeM changed its name to
Khuddam ul-Islam. Khuddam was also banned in 2003, after which it re-branded itself as a charity called
Al-Rehmat Trust through which they are accused of raising funds for their activities. In the centre of the city, the group ran an "imposing" madrassa, attended by hundreds of children every year. In 2008, the organization held a massive three-day rally in the city, with its own armed security guards posted at all the entrances to the city centre. The police were conspicuous by their absence.
Bruce Riedel connects the revival of JeM to the return to office of Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif, who had long advocated a 'détente' with India. The developing links between him and the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, especially following the latter's visit to Lahore on the Christmas Day in 2015, angered the group. It was also announced that Masood Azhar was taken into "protective custody". However, JeM issued a statement denying that anybody had been arrested. In April 2016, the JeM chief Masood Azhar was said to be free but "within reach, if needed". According to
Riaz Hussain Pirzada, the
Member of National Assembly from Bahawalpur, the "breeding grounds" still remained and the madrassas were still being financed. According to an official, Nawaz Sharif ordered the Counterterrorism Department to crack down on the organisation but, in a high-level meeting, the army chief General
Raheel Sharif pressured the Prime Minister to hand over the crackdown to the Army, after which "no one knows what happened".
Dawn reported the Punjab Chief Minister
Shahbaz Sharif as saying that, whenever civilian authorities took action against certain groups, the security establishment worked behind the scenes to set them free. The government however denied the accuracy of the report. Following the onset of the
2016 Kashmir unrest in Indian Jammu and Kashmir, all the
jihadi groups in Pakistan held rallies in major cities like
Lahore. The JeM was seen openly raising funds for
jihad. Subsequently in November 2016, the
Nagrota Army base attack was orchestrated. All hostages were unharmed but multiple casualties were reported from the Indian Army while trying to defuse the situation. India then launched a diplomatic offensive, trying to isolate Pakistan in the world community. On 28 September, it declared that it had carried out "
surgical strikes" on alleged JeM camps in Pakistani-administered Kashmir. The claim was however denied by Pakistan.
2019 On 14 February 2019, Jaish-e-Mohammed carried out and claimed responsibility for a
suicide attack in Lathpora near
Awantipora in Kashmir's Pulwama District on a convoy of security forces, killing least 40 Indian personnel. A bus carrying 39 Central Reserve Police Force personnel was rammed by a car carrying 350 kg of explosives. On 26 February 2019, 12
Indian Air Force Mirage 2000 jets crossed the Line of Control, and dropped precision-guided bombs on an alleged Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp in
Balakot, a town in the Khyber province of
Pakistan. The Pakistani government denied that any damage had been caused by the bombs. On 27 August 2019, two members of a nomadic community were killed by militants believed to be members of Jaish-e-Mohammed in the higher reaches of Tral in south Kashmir after they were abducted from their temporary shelter.
2021 After the Taliban seizure of Afghanistan, many JeM cadres were released, the JeM and Taliban have held meetings and the JeM has been assured of all support in carrying out its activities in India. The Hindustan Times reported on Oct 27, 2021 that JeM's leader Masood Azhar met w/ Taliban leaders including Mullah Baradar in Khandar in late August 2021 seeking their help in the Kashmir fight.
2025 On 7 May 2025, India said that it launched
missile strikes on JeM base camps in Bahawalpur, Pakistan in retaliation for the
Pahalgam attack. Masood Azhar later claimed that several of his family members were killed in the strikes. According to Indian officials, his brother,
Abdul Rauf Azhar who took the command of JeM on 21 April 2007, was killed in the strikes. Though this remains unconfirmed, other reports which list wanted terrorist claimed to have been killed in the strikes do not include his name. Masood Azhar, who confirmed the death of 10 members of his family in a statement, also did not list his name among those killed in the strikes. In September 2025, rare admissions from top JeM commanders confirmed the destruction of their training camps in Bahawalpur. At the 38th annual Mission Mustafa conference, Jaish-e-Muhammad commander Masood Ilyas Kashmiri revealed that Indian forces "tore into pieces" the family members of
Masood Azhar during the strike in Bahawalpur, and accused Pakistan Army Chief
Asim Munir of sending generals to the funerals of slain terrorists. After 12 May, India subsequently conducted more operations in Jammu and Kashmir. On 15 May, Asif Ahmed Sheikh, Amir Nazir Wani, and Yawar Ahmad Bhat — all residents of Pulwama district who were identified as JeM associates — were killed in an
encounter with Indian security forces in Tral’s Nadir village. They were reportedly shot dead after opening fire on troops during a cordon and search operation based on specific intelligence about their presence. In July 2025, Sunil Bahadur Thapa, Advisor to the President of Nepal and former Minister of Industry, warned that groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed could potentially exploit Nepal as a transit point for its activities in India, raising concerns about regional security. ==Ideology and goals==