A new audio clip of the leader of Pakistan-based terror group, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Maulana Masood Azhar, has surfaced on social media. This recording has raised new concerns regarding the propagation of militant ideologies by terrorist outfits operating out of Pakistan. Azhar says in the recording that he has "thousands of suicide attackers" at his disposal.
As per The Times of India, the clips were posted by pro-ISI accounts on Telegram and X. However, the date and authenticity of this video clip cannot be verified.
Claims made in the audio message
In the audio tape, Azhar generalises the strength and objectives of the JeM. Azhar claims that the size of his following is so large that making it public would “cause an uproar in global media”.
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“Ye (suicide bombers) ek nahi, do nahi, 100 nahi, ye 1000 bhi nahi, agar poori taadat bata doon, toh kal duniya ki media par hungama mach jayega”, Times Now quoted.
He is also heard saying, “They only ask Allah for 1 thing: martyrdom”, and not motivated by any materialistic gain like money.
Context of Indian strikes on JeM
According to a report by India Today, this recording recently emerged as a result of an Indian operation against several targets of Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pakistan, which include their main base in Bahawalpur. This was India’s prompt retaliation against the terror attack in Pahalgam killing 26 people on April 22nd.
The Cahawalpur mosque, Jamia Masjid Subhan Allah, was badly affected. Around 10 members of Azhar’s family, including close relatives, and a few members of his support team, lost their lives.
In September last year, Jaish indirectly acknowledged the losses when a high-ranking commander appeared in a video message that his relatives in Azhar’s family were killed in the Bahawalpur attack.
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Azhar’s disappearance from public view
He has not been seen in public since 2019 and has been known to have survived an attack on his hideout in the form of a massive blast courtesy of unidentified assailants in Bahawalpur that year. Ever since then, his last known whereabouts have been unknown, with estimates indicating that he might be carrying out operations away from Bahawalpur and possibly in the occupied areas of Pakistan.
UN-designated terrorist Azhar is reportedly the brains behind many major attacks in India, including the 2016 attack on the Pathankot air base and the 2019 suicide attack in Pulwama that killed 44 personnel of the CRPF.
