Pulwama attack mastermind Masood Azhar makes first address in 20 years, vows to renew operations against India

Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar, the mastermind behind the 2001 Indian Parliament attack and the 2019 Pulwama attack, has reportedly delivered his first public address in over 20 years, reported ThePrint citing an online digital forum operated by Pakistan-based terrorist organisation. In the speech, Azhar vowed to renew jihadist operations targeting India and Israel to establish a global Islamic order.

JeM has not disclosed the timing or location of the address, as per the report. In the speech, Azhar said, “India, your death is coming.”

“Fearful rulers who do not believe in the word of Allah and jihad have led us to defeat in Kashmir, Palestine, and other Muslim lands,” Azhar said as per report. “They say nothing can change, and America will rule the world,” he added.

“Three hundred and nine years may pass before things change, according to the Quran,” the JeM chief said. “God may will that things change only after a thousand years, and sometimes in minutes,” he added.

“I am ashamed that a weakling like (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi challenges us, or a mouse-like (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu dances on our graves,” he said, as per ThePrint report. “Tell me, are there not even 300 people who can fight to reclaim my Babri Masjid?” he added.

“We will send you all to Kashmir with such powerful guns that all the television anchors will quiver…, and ask where these weapons have come from,” Azhar said.

An Indian intelligence officer familiar with JeM told ThePrint that the address likely happened last month at the 1,000-acre Umm-ul-Qura seminary and mosque complex near Bahawalpur, Pakistan.

Release of Masood Azhar and foundation of Jaish-e-Muhammad

Masood Azhar was released by India in 1999 as part of a hostage exchange during the IC-814 hijacking. The flight, carrying 154 passengers from Kathmandu to New Delhi, was hijacked by five terrorists, who demanded the release of three high-profile prisoners: Masood Azhar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar. Azhar had been in Indian custody since 1994. Shortly after his release, Azhar founded Jaish-e-Muhammad.

2001 Parliament attack and its aftermath

Soon after JeM was founded, it was linked to two major attacks on India in 2001. In October that year, JeM carried out a suicide bombing at the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly in Srinagar, killing over 30 people.

The Indian Parliament was attacked on 13 December 2001 by militants from Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad, leaving nine dead and 18 injured. 

Following the Parliament attack, Pakistan banned JeM due to international pressure, and Azhar was taken into custody on 29 December 2001. However, he was released in December 2002 by a Lahore High Court review board, as per the South Asia Terrorism Portal.

Despite being banned by the United Nations and Pakistani authorities, JeM continued operations. Following a 2006 attack in Srinagar, the group faded from media attention, although Azhar continued to deliver sermons to motivate jihadists.

On 1 January 2016, four JeM militants armed with Kalashnikov rifles and grenades attacked an airbase in Pathankot, Punjab, near the Pakistani border, killing seven Indian personnel.

After the Pathankot attack, JeM claimed responsibility for the 14 February 2019 suicide bombing in Kashmir, which killed at least 46 soldiers. This was the deadliest attack on Indian forces in the region since 1989. Days later, India responded with airstrikes inside Pakistan.

In a speech on 16 February, two days after the Pulwama bombing, Azhar warned that if India did not relinquish control of Kashmir, jihad would engulf the entire country.

Following the Pulwama attack, Pakistan claimed to have seized Azhar’s compound in Bahawalpur. However, as per media reports JeM has since expanded the facilities in the area.

As per a report in The Diplomat, Pakistan had taken Azhar into custody during investigations into the Pulwama attack. In February 2020, ahead of a plenary meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global body monitoring money laundering and terror financing, Pakistan informed the organisation that Azhar and his family had gone missing.

According to an India Today report from 1 September 2021, Azhar congratulated the Taliban on their takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, describing it as a major victory for regional jihadist groups.

In 2022, Pakistan’s then-Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto revealed that Azhar had escaped to Afghanistan, just before Pakistani authorities were set to declare him a proclaimed offender.

In early 2022, Pakistan raised concerns with the Taliban about Azhar’s presence in Afghanistan, urging his arrest and extradition, as per the Diplomat report. The Taliban denied these claims, adding that Azhar is a Pakistani national and could not possibly be in Afghanistan.

Although Pakistan still claims that Azhar is in Afghanistan, an India Today exclusive report dated 17 July 2024 reported that Azhar is freely moving around in Pakistan and has even attended several weddings.

(With inputs from agencies)