Product Code Database
Muhammad Masood Azhar Alvi (born 10 July or 7 August 1968) is a Pakistani militant leader, who is the founder and current leader of militant organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based Islamic Deobandi jihadist organisation. His actions are not limited to the region; for instance, BBC News described him as "the man who brought jihad to Britain". "Masood Azhar: The man who brought jihad to Britain" (5 April 2016), BBC News. Retrieved 6 April 2020. On 1 May 2019, he was listed as an international terrorist by the United Nations Security Council.Outlook Web Bureau (15 February 2019), "What Is Jaish-e-Mohammad? Who Is Masood Azhar?", Outlook India. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
Azhar dropped out of mainstream school after class 8 and joined the Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia, from where he graduated out in 1989 as an alim and was soon appointed as a teacher .
Azhar later became the general secretary of Harkat-ul-Ansar and visited many international locations to recruit, to raise funds and to spread the message of Pan-Islamism. Among his destinations were Zambia, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Mongolia, the United Kingdom and Albania.
Azhar confessed that in 1993 he traveled to Nairobi, Kenya to meet with leaders of al-Itihaad al-Islamiya, an al-Qaeda-aligned Somali group, who had requested money and recruits from Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM). Indian intelligence officials believe that he made at least three trips to Somalia and that he also helped bring mercenaries to Somalia.
In August 1993, Azhar entered the United Kingdom for a speaking, fundraising, and recruitment tour. His message of Jihadism was given at some of Britain's most prestigious Islamic institutions, including the Darul Uloom Bury seminary, Zakariya Mosque, Madina Masjid in Blackburn and Burnley, and Jamia Masjid. His message was that "substantial proportion of the Quran had been devoted to 'killing for the sake of Allah' and that a substantial volume of sayings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad were on the issue of jihad." Azhar made contacts in Britain who helped to provide training and logistical support for the terror plots, including "7/7, 21/7 and the attempt in 2006 to smuggle liquid bomb-making substances on to transatlantic airlines." Rashid Rauf, who was implicated in the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot, was married to a relative of Azhar." JeM chief's father questioned about Rauf", NDTV, 18 August 2006. Retrieved on 18 August 2006
In July 1995, six foreign tourists were kidnapped in Jammu and Kashmir. The kidnappers, referring to themselves as Al-Faran (a pseudonym of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen), included the release of Masood Azhar among their demands. One of the hostages managed to escape whilst another was found in a decapitated state in August. The others were never seen or heard from since 1995.
In 1998, U.S.'s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in its report stated, "HuA, an Islamic extremist organisation that Pakistan supports in its proxy war against Indian forces in Kashmir, increasingly is using terrorist tactics against Westerners and random attacks on civilians that could involve Westerners to promote its pan-Islamic agenda." CIA also stated that HuA had abducted at least 13 persons, of which 12 were from western countries, in the period from early 1994 to 1998.
Shortly after his release, Azhar made a public address to an estimated 10,000 people in Karachi. He proclaimed, "I have come here because this is my duty to tell you that Muslims should not rest in peace until we have destroyed India," vowing to liberate the Kashmir region from Indian rule.
In 1999, after Masood's release, the Harkat-ul-Ansar was proscribed by the U.S. and added to the list of banned terrorist organisations. This move forced Harkat-ul-Ansar to change its name to the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM).
Soon after the Indian parliament attack, on 29 December 2001, Masood Azhar was detained for a year by Pakistani authorities, after diplomatic pressure by India and the International community, in connection with the attack, but was never formally charged. The Lahore High Court ordered an end to the house arrest on 14 December 2002, much to the fury of India.
The Chinese government blocked a UN Security Council Sanctions Committee listing of Azhar as a terrorist, thwarting international efforts to disrupt the activities of his group.
Release after hijacking
Four years later, in December 1999, an Indian Airlines Flight 814 (IC814) en route from Kathmandu in Nepal to New Delhi was hijacked and eventually landed in Kandahar, Afghanistan after being flown to multiple locations. Kandahar at that time was controlled by the Taliban, which was supported by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence. Masood Azhar was one of the three militants demanded to be released in exchange for freeing the hostages. Subsequently, Azhar was freed by the Indian government in a decision criticised by many including Ajit Doval as a "diplomatic failure", and that no one worth any consequence was contacted either by the (then) foreign minister (Jaswant Singh) or the (then) foreign secretary (Lalit Mansingh), and as a consequence, the Indian ambassador could not even get inside the Abu Dhabi airport.
Jaish-e-Mohammed
Azhar planned to start a new outfit named Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). He reportedly received assistance from Pakistan's spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden and multiple Sunni sectarian organisations based in Pakistan. JeM is run by Azhar's family like a family enterprise. Jamia Binoria madarsa linked JeM with the Afghan Taliban.
2001 Indian Parliament attack
Jaish-e-Mohammed carried out a string of deadly attacks against Indian targets, including the attack on the Indian parliament in December 2001 that brought India and Pakistan to the brink of a full-scale war.Tanner, Marcus (17 December 2001) Pakistan blamed by India for raid on parliament. The Independent The terrorism attack on the Parliament of India in New Delhi happened on 13 December 2001. The perpetrators belonged to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), both Pakistan-based terrorist organisations. The attack led to the deaths of five terrorists, six Delhi Police personnel, two Parliament Security Service personnel and a gardenerin total 14and to increased tensions between India and Pakistan, resulting in the 2001–02 India–Pakistan standoff.
2008 Mumbai attacks
On 7 December 2008, it was claimed that he was among several arrested by the Pakistani government after a military raid on a camp located on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad in connection with the 2008 Mumbai attacks. He continued to live in Bhawalpur.
2016 Pathankot attack
The 2016 Pathankot attack on an Indian air base is said to have been masterminded by Masood Azhar and his brother Abdul Rauf Azhar. They were in direct touch with terrorists even after the attack had begun. Indian investigative agencies have given dossiers containing proofs of Azhar's complicity in the terror attack and also sought a second ʽInterpol notice from ʽInterpolʼ.
2019 Pulwama attack
On 14 February 2019, a convoy of vehicles carrying security personnel on the Jammu–Srinagar National Highway was attacked by a vehicle-bound Suicide attack in Lethapora near Awantipora, Pulwama district, Jammu and Kashmir, India. The attack resulted in the death of 44 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel and the attacker. The responsibility for the attack was claimed by Jaish-e-Mohammed. He approved the attacks from the Pakistani Army Hospital where he is under protective custody. After the attack, France, United Kingdom and United States moved a proposal at UN Security Council to ban Masood.
Funding methods
According to Indian intelligence reports from 2025, Masood Azhar and his family were linked to a network of digital wallets used to finance Jaish-e-Mohammed’s (JeM) operations. These wallets, operating through platforms such as EasyPaisa and SadaPay, were allegedly managed by Azhar’s son Abdullah Azhar, his brother Talha Al Saif, and other senior JeM figures. The reports indicated that funds were initially collected in primary wallets and then distributed to multiple secondary accounts, with approximately 30 new wallets created each month to avoid detection. This method, described as a form of “digital hawala,” was believed to have facilitated a significant portion of JeM’s financial activity, including arms purchases, operational costs, and support for Azhar’s family, with Pakistan’s intelligence agency Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) reportedly enabling the migration of JeM’s funding to these platforms.
Loss of family members during the 2025 India–Pakistan conflict
On 7 May 2025, India conducted missile strikes against terrorist camps in Pakistan, in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack, including Jaish-e-Mohammed's camp in Bahawalpur. Masood Azhar reported the loss of ten family members, including his older sister and her husband, his nephew and his nephew's wife, his niece and five children from his family. He however, did not list his brother (Abdul Rauf Azhar) among those killed. In September 2025, JeM commander Masood Ilyas Kashmiri stated that Maulana Masood Azhar’s family was “torn into pieces” by Indian forces during the strikes on the group’s headquarters in Bahawalpur. Speaking at the Mission Mustafa Conference, Kashmiri expressed outrage over the attack, revealing that Azhar’s family members were killed despite their "sacrifices" in what he described as a jihad to protect Pakistan’s borders. His statement marked a rare public acknowledgment of the operation’s impact, with a separate note attributing the death of ten family members and four close associates to an Indian strike on Jamia Masjid Subhan Allah.
Sanctions
The U.S. Treasury is prohibiting Americans from "engaging in any transactions" with three Pakistan-based militants and a front group. Al Rehmat Trust, called "an operational front" for Jaish-e-Mohammed, was designated for providing support to and for acting for or on behalf of that group and Azhar was designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List for acting on behalf of the group.
Bibliography
Books and booklets by him
Described as a "prolific writer",Ben Brandt, "AZHAR, MASOOD" in Peter Chalk, Encyclopedia of Terrorism, ABC-CLIO (2013), vol. 1, p. 79 he has authored some 20 books mainly on jihad,Zahid, Farhan. "Profile of Jaish-e-Muhammad and Leader Masood Azhar." Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses, vol. 11, no. 4, 2019, p. 2 including:
Books and booklets about him
See also
Notes
External links
Categories: 1968 Births, Fugitives Wanted By India, Fugitives Wanted On Terrorism Charges, Leaders Of Jihadist Groups, Living People, People From Bahawalpur, Deobandis, Critics Of Judaism, Pakistani People Imprisoned Abroad, Pakistani People Imprisoned On Terrorism Charges, Pakistani Expatriates In India, Specially Designated Nationals And Blocked Persons List, Pakistani Islamists, People Of The Kashmir Conflict, Kashmiri Militants, People Charged With Terrorism, People Of The War In Afghanistan, Inmates Of Tihar Jail, Pakistani Expatriates In The United Kingdom, Pakistani Expatriates In Afghanistan, Pakistani Expatriates In Somalia, Pakistani Conspiracy Theorists, Punjabi People, Saraiki People, Antisemitism In Pakistan
|
|
