Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar was heard bragging about a 30,000-strong organizational cadre and how no power or missile could prevent "10,000 fidayeen ready for jihad", CNN-News18 reported citing an audio of the terror outfit chief played at a Bahawalpur mosque in Pakistan.
"The funds given to Mujahid will be used for Jihad… Pakistan requires Mujahid’s blessings as much as big religious leaders do. We have fidayeens, no force or missile can arrest them. We have a cadre of 30,000. Jaish has 10,000 fidayeens ready for jihad," Masood Azhar was heard saying in the audio clip accessed by CNN-News18.
Masood Azhar is a UN-designated terrorist linked to several terror attacks in India, including the 2001 Parliament attack, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the 2016 Pathankot airbase attack and the 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing. He was released from Indian custody in 1999 as part of a hostage exchange following the Kandahar hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814.
The audio clip signals a strategic attempt by Pakistan to revive a defunct asset following the setback it faced during Operation Sindoor, the report said, citing intelligence sources. The remarks are also in line with Pakistan's intent to escalate its proxy war during the Amarnath Yatra aimed at disrupting India’s internal harmony and targeting the sacred pilgrimage.
"Azhar’s reference to funding for Mujahideen is not mere rhetoric; it is a coded call for financing upcoming attacks, potentially involving foreign sympathizers and hawala routes. This aligns with recent intercepts indicating a revival of terror financing chains in Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Gulf regions," the sources told CNN-News18, adding that Pakistani agencies are reportedly recycling defunct terror figures like Azhar to reorganise sleeper cells and assert dominance through symbolic threats.
The glorification of fidayeen also signals a shift in Pakistan's 'terror policy' towards lone wolf and suicide attacks following the blocking of traditional routes of infiltration, the sources added.
There is also an increased dependence on newly activated madrassa clusters in south Punjab and Pakistan occupied Kashmir. These mosque broadcasts prove that UN-sanctioned terrorists are being promoted with state knowledge in Pakistan, they said.
India has repeatedly demanded Masood Azhar’s extradition, along with Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed but Pakistan has consistently denied harboring the terrorists despite evidence of their presence in the country.
Pakistani politician Bilawal Bhutto Zardari recently told Al Jazeera in an interview that Islamabad has no knowledge of the location of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar, and that it would be than willing to arrest him if New Delhi provides credible evidence of Azhar's presence in Pakistan.
“If and when the Indian government shares information with us that he is on Pakistani soil, we would be more than happy to arrest him," Bilawal Bhutto said, adding, “The fact is, the Indian government is not," he said.
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