Poonch Attack:  The People's Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF), a comparatively newer insurgent group has claimed responsibility for Thursday's attack on an Army convoy in Jammu and Kashmir, which left four Indian soldiers dead and three others injured. The cowardly attack on the Indian army vehicles was not the only attack the dreaded militant group carried in Jammu and Kashmir, earlier it was involved in many such attacks on civilians, government officials, police personnel and Indian forces.

The notorious group came into being in 2019 after Article 370 was removed from the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. The Central government had revoked the special status of the state, which was bifurcated into two Union Territories. On this pretext, PAFF was formed to radicalize the Kashmiri Muslim youth. Reports suggest that it was formed by Jaish-e-Mohammad or might be a sinister collaboration of JeM and Lashkar-e-Taiba.

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PAFF, designated a terrorist organisation under UAPA in January this year, is known for using a Hybrid mode of militancy. The civilians are recruited for the short term to carry out a terrorist attack and later sent back to normal lives, thus evading the clutches of the armed forces and the justice system.

The PAFF uses body cameras to record their attacks and later uses the footage for propaganda. In April this year, they targeted an army truck in Poonch, filmed the attack, and released a video through the LeT's front. The video showed the terrorists leaving the area with the weapons of the soldiers who were killed in the action.

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Recently emerged militant organisations, including PAFF, The Resistance Front, United Liberation Front, and Ghaznavi Force, intentionally distance themselves from their jihadist parent organisations. This is evident in their names, logos, and messaging, through which they try to portray themselves as a 'secular' insurgent organisation.

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Groups like PAFF and The Resistance Front adopt a more secular facade, using terms like "resistance against occupation" and opposing "fascist forces" to justify their activities. This strategic shift in messaging aims to present a non-religious front compared to the overt jihad rhetoric of their parent organisations.