 "Masood Azhar is India's most wanted terrorist. File Photo/Reuters")
Pakistan’s state-sponsored terror links have been laid bare once again after a senior Jaish-e-Mohammed commander directly implicated Masood Azhar in planning attacks in Delhi and Mumbai—undercutting Islamabad’s repeated denials of harbouring extremists.
Masood Ilyas Kashmiri, a top figure in the UN-designated group, admitted in a video that Azhar—one of India’s most wanted terrorists—directed operations from Pakistan after being freed from Tihar Jail. He revealed that Azhar’s base was in Balakot, the site of India’s 2019 airstrikes.
“After escaping Tihar Jail in Delhi, Amir-ul-Mujahideen Maulana Masood Azhar comes to Pakistan. The soil of Balakot provides him a base to carry forward his vision, mission, and programme Delhi and Bombay [Mumbai]—this is how Maulana Masood Azhar, the Amir-ul-Mujahideen who terrorised the country, appears,” Kashmiri is heard saying.
In his admission, the top Jaish commander credited Balakot as a staging ground for Azhar’s campaign against India and even praised Osama bin Laden as a “martyr.” His remarks reinforce India’s long-standing claim that Jaish camps thrived in Pakistan under military patronage, despite Islamabad’s denials.
In another revelation, Kashmiri confirmed that India’s May 7 strike on Jaish’s Bahawalpur headquarters—Jamia Masjid Subhan Allah—killed members of Azhar’s family, who were “torn apart” in the bombing.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe strike was part of Operation Sindoor, India’s retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians, targeting multiple terror launchpads across the border and in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The Pahalgam attack was carried out by Pakistan-backed terrorists, prompting fierce Indian retaliation. India targeted multiple terror outfits, including Jaish and Lashkar, in retaliation.
Kashmiri further disclosed that Pakistan Army generals were instructed to attend the funerals of slain Jaish fighters in Bahawalpur—laying bare Islamabad’s direct links with the terror outfit.