Security agencies are examining whether the blast at the Red Fort is part of Jaish-e-Mohammed’s “three-month operational cycle”.
Photo : PTI
The high-intensity blast near Delhi’s Red Fort – an iconic tourist destination in the crowded part of the old city area – on Sunday evening that took 9 lives has set off a probe into a “familiar operational pattern” seen in past terror incidents attributed to Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). The officials, however, are still probing the explosion. The early indicators, according to the sources, suggest the timing and method of the blast bear similarities to JeM’s previous strikes, particularly the Pulwama terror attack.
Intel sources have indicated that JeM may have once again tried to follow its three-month pattern, attempting another attack after a gap of three months — similar to the Pahalgam attack and the subsequent Mahadev operation, both carried out roughly three months apart.
The Pattern Investigators Are Probing
Fast forward to November, 2025, over three months after Operation Mahadev, the explosion near Lal Qila metro station killed 9 and many injured. The investigators, though probing all possible angles, are also looking into the possibility of any link to this ‘three-month’ modus operandi of Pakistan-based JeM. Before drawing any conclusion, the intelligence is likely to revisit earlier case files for forensic and tactical parallels, sources have said.
The terror group, according to intelligence officials, often resort to such periodic blasts to just emphasise their ‘presence’.
