‘JeM exists only to target India’: Italian scribe links Red Fort blast to Pakistan-backed terror network

Rising JeM threat to India

Italian investigative journalist Francesca Marino has issued a grave warning about the escalating threat from Pakistan-based terror groups, linking the recent suicide bombing at Delhi’s Red Fort to a renewed push by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). Speaking to NDTV after the launch of her book From Pulwama to Payback – The Inside Story, Marino said the attack was not an isolated episode but part of a coordinated strategy JeM has been rebuilding for years.

The November 10 suicide blast – the first in the national capital – killed 15 people and injured more than 20. As Marino tells NDTV, the use of TATP, a high-intensity explosive known as the “Mother of Satan”, mirrors the methods deployed in earlier terror attacks across Europe. For her, the fingerprints point unmistakably to JeM’s long-standing playbook of revenge. Intelligence inputs cited in the interview suggest the group initially aimed to strike on December 6, the anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, and may even have planned to attack a Hindu religious site.

“JeM exists only to target India,” Marino stresses in her conversation with NDTV. “If they don’t carry out attacks, they lose their relevance and their funding.”

Marino warns that JeM is now rebuilding with renewed aggression, including creating a female suicide bomber division, with senior roles reportedly held by Masood Azhar’s sisters. “This shows the level of radicalisation. They are adapting, expanding and preparing for the next phase,” she says.

While the Delhi bombing demonstrates JeM’s restored confidence, Marino tracks its foundations back to the fallout of the 2019 Pulwama attack and the Indian Air Force’s Balakot air strike. Her book revisits the episode with new detail, drawing on eyewitness reports she shared during her earlier coverage—reports Pakistan tried to discredit through an orchestrated narrative.

Marino recounts how her trusted source described seeing “35 bodies being carried away” the night of the strike. According to her account, Pakistan moved swiftly to confiscate phones, relocate the injured to military facilities and seal off the area entirely, even as it publicly insisted India had “hit only trees”.

“The cover-up was immediate and extensive,” Marino says. “They sent mediapersons like Hamid Mir days later, staged photo ops, and claimed nothing happened. But the bombs India used do not leave craters – so the lack of craters was itself proof of Pakistan’s lies.”

She criticises international media for accepting Pakistan’s version without scrutiny. “Pakistan is a known terror sponsor. Yet they are believed instantly, while India is asked for proof,” she adds.

Marino offers a stark assessment of Pakistan’s internal dynamics under Army Chief General Asim Munir, whom she calls “the most radical army chief in Pakistan's history”. She argues that both the army and the ISI remain deeply intertwined with JeM, Lashkar-e-Taiba and other jihadist networks.

“The army needs to manufacture an enemy to justify its power—and India is that enemy,” she tell. “As long as this remains true, groups like JeM will thrive.”

Marino says From Pulwama to Payback is aimed at ordinary readers as much as specialists, offering clarity in an era of misinformation. It explains how JeM operates, how Pakistan enables it, and the events behind Pulwama, Balakot and now the Delhi bombing.

With JeM’s footprint once again visible at the heart of the capital, Marino’s warnings serve as a critical reminder of the evolving terror landscape confronting India.