How a Hijacked Plane and a Released Prisoner Spawned a Militant Organization

Wars & Conflicts · Published 15 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In 1999, a desperate hostage negotiation led to the release of Masood Azhar from an Indian prison. Within weeks, he founded Jaish-e-Mohammed, an Islamist group that would soon orchestrate a series of high-profile suicide attacks, forever altering the security landscape between India and Pakistan in the Kashmir region.

The origins of Jaish-e-Mohammed are deeply tied to the career of Masood Azhar, a Pakistani figure who rose to prominence within the Harakat-ul-Mujahideen militant network. Initially focused on the Soviet-Afghan war, Azhar transitioned toward advocating for insurgency in Kashmir following the 1992 destruction of the Babri Masjid in India. His trajectory shifted dramatically in 1994 when he was captured by Indian forces while traveling with fraudulent documentation. His imprisonment ended in December 1999, when hijackers of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 forced the Indian government to trade him and two other militants for the lives of nearly 190 passengers.

Upon his return to Pakistan, Azhar established Jaish-e-Mohammed in January 2000. The organization, which draws ideological inspiration from the Deoband school of Sunni Islam, centers its operations on an armed campaign to separate Jammu and Kashmir from Indian governance. Indian officials have long alleged that the group functions with the backing of Pakistan’s military and its primary intelligence branch, the Inter-Services Intelligence. Furthermore, reports suggest the group secured early financial support from al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, cementing its status as a significant regional threat.

The group is notorious for its reliance on suicide operations, which its leadership frames as acts of martyrdom. Since 2001, these tactics have resulted in hundreds of casualties across India. Notable incidents include the 2001 assault on the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly, the 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament in New Delhi, and the 2019 suicide bombing in Pulwama that killed about 40 members of the Central Reserve Police Force. Despite being officially banned in Pakistan in 2002, the organization has persisted, often operating through various fronts and maintaining a decentralized structure that complicates efforts to dismantle its influence.

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