UNSC panel notes Pak-based terror group JeM's reported link to Red Fort attack

A report by the UN Security Council sanctions monitoring team has noted that Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed was reported to be linked to a terror attack on the Red Fort in New Delhi last November that killed 15 people.

“One Member State noted that Jaish-i-Mohammed had claimed responsibility for a series of attacks. It was also reported to be linked to an attack on the Red Fort in New Delhi on November 9 that killed 15 people,” the 37th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted to the Security Council 1267 Sanctions Committee concerning ISIL and Al-Qaida said.

The report, issued at the UN, added that on October 8, JeM leader Mohammed Masood Azhar Alvi “formally announced the establishment of a women-only wing, Jamaat ul-Muminat, which was aimed at supporting terrorist attacks.”

Even as another member state reported that Jaish-e-Mohammed was defunct, the report added that “Separately, it was reported that on July 28, three individuals allegedly involved in the attack perpetrated in Pahalgam, in Jammu and Kashmir, were killed.”

A deadly and high-intensity explosion had rocked the Red Fort area in New Delhi, killing about 15 people and injuring many more.

The explosion had ripped through a slow-moving car at a traffic signal near the Red Fort metro station.

At his weekly briefing in New Delhi on Thursday, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was asked for a comment on the UNSC report.

"This particular report that you refer to, it is available in the public domain. It is online. This was the 37th Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team. This was published on February 4, 2026," he said.

"And, we have seen that they have taken on board our inputs, India's inputs in regard to our concern on cross-border terrorism, and also as to how we can strengthen the global fight against terrorism," the MEA spokesperson said.

The UNSC report further said that Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) remained active in south-eastern Afghanistan, where the Haqqani Network exerts considerable influence.

Osama Mahmoud, the “emir” of AQIS, and Yahya Ghauri, his deputy, were reported to be in Kabul, with the media cell of AQIS based in Herat.

“There were concerns that AQIS was increasingly focused on external operations. Such operations would likely be unclaimed or deniable operations, perhaps as part of the umbrella group Ittihad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan…so as not to create difficulties for the Taliban as hosts of AQIS,” it said.

The report added that ISIL-K was active mainly in northern Afghanistan, particularly Badakhshan, and areas close to the Pakistani border.

It continued to develop its network of cells to project a threat regionally and beyond.

“Aggressive propaganda by ISIL-K in Central Asian languages expanded its target audience. It sought to exploit issues such as the Gaza and Israel conflict to promote recruitment and financing,” it added.