Intelligence sources say it was allegedly made by Masood Azhar's younger brother

Exactly a year after the horrific terror attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed have released a video promising revenge against alleged Indian brutalities in Kashmir.

The 2019 Pulwama attack had left 40 security personnel dead, after a suicide bomber targeted a convoy of trucks carrying over 2,500 CRPF forces from Jammu to Srinagar.

The new video comes ahead of an official visit by US President Donald Trump to the country between February 24 and 25, his first since becoming president. However, intelligence sources  say it may not be related to his visit as it could have been made before the trip was announced.

According to intelligence reports, the video was released from Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir (PoK). It was allegedly made by the younger brother of JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar, who was designated a ‘global terrorist’ by the United Nations in May 2019.

In the video, he exhorts JeM fighters to take revenge for the alleged brutalities in Kashmir, as well as to fulfil the terror agenda against those whom they believe are suppressing their cause; for which many terrorist fighters have become “Shaheed (Martyrs)”.

Intelligence sources said that while JeM is definitely against Trump’s India visit, they [agencies] are not directly linking the video to his visit, as it could have been made in PoK much before the trip was finalised.

Moreover, senior intelligence officials said that JeM is not bothered only about Kashmir, as its terror agenda is much bigger. The outfit had collaborated with Afghan insurgent groups like the Haqqani network and the Afghan Taliban, especially after the Balakot strike.

Ongoing developments in Afghanistan, such as the US-Taliban talks and the possible withdrawal of US troops, are being closely watched by the terror outfit’s top brass, which could have been another reason for them to release the motivational video for its fighters.

The Taliban had a big role to play in Azhar’s release during the Kandahar hijacking in 1999, said an official, adding that JeM has traditionally had a link with the international fighters in Afghanistan.

The video, Indian officials believe, is also part of the terror outfit’s campaign to hit out against the BJP government and Indian security forces.

The video has also come after the recent killing of three Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists in an encounter by security forces along the Jammu-Srinagar Highway on January 31, which came as a setback to the terrorist outfit. These three slain terrorists had been celebrated by the Pakistan ISI as the new ''Shaheeds''. Intelligence reports identified the three as Abdul Rashid, Nawaab Hussain and Zakkah Ullah.

A Dua-e-Majlis (funeral prayer in absentia) was organised at Madrassa Sah Ismail Shaheed at Bahawalpur in Pakistan, the headquarters of the Jaish e Mohammed for the January 31 ''Shaheeds'', as per intelligence inputs.

Intelligence reports revealed that the prayer ceremony was held at a madrasa close to Jama Masjid in Bahawalpur, the headquarters of the JeM and that the prayers were offered by Imam Mufti Sakhlain.

A call for revenge against the killing of JeM terrorists in Kashmir and Afghanistan, as well as a message of motivation for its cadres to continue to fight against their enemy, is believed to be what the Jaish brass wanted to communicate to its fighters.