Masood Azhar admits failed tunnel escape from Jammu prison, says thrashing still haunts him

File photo of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar.

Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar has made a rare and damning admission about his time in Indian custody in the 1990s, revealing how a failed attempt to escape from a Jammu and Kashmir jail left him traumatised and terrified.

In an audio clip of a speech, likely delivered at an event in Pakistan, the UN-designated terrorist is heard recounting how his plan to flee Kot Bhalwal jail in Jammu by digging a tunnel collapsed at the last moment. Intelligence sources have confirmed the audio to be genuine.

Kot Bhalwal jail is a high-security facility that once housed some of the most dangerous terrorists arrested by India. It was here that Azhar, arrested in 1994, attempted to cheat the law by secretly digging a tunnel using tools he managed to procure inside the prison.

Recalling the episode, the JeM chief broke down emotionally in the recording, saying, “The tunnel was discovered by them on the last day of my escape plan.”

The discovery of the tunnel led to severe consequences for Azhar and other terrorists involved. In the audio, he admits that jail authorities came down hard on them for the escape attempt and that the fear of punishment still haunts him.

He said he was thrashed by jail officials and subjected to strict discipline, adding that he was chained and placed under heavy restrictions. “To this day, I still fear the jail authorities,” Azhar was heard saying, referring to the punishment meted out to him after the failed escape.

Following the incident, the prison became an even tougher environment for Azhar and his accomplices, with tighter enforcement of rules and physical punishment for violations, according to his own account.

Azhar had entered India in February 1994 using a fake identity and a Portuguese passport, with the explicit aim of spreading jihad in Jammu and Kashmir and recruiting terrorists. He was arrested later that year in Anantnag and remained in Indian custody until 1999. During this period, multiple attempts were made by terror groups to free him, all of which failed.

His release finally came not through law but coercion. In December 1999, the Indian government was forced to release Azhar during the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 in exchange for hostages. Soon after returning to Pakistan, he founded Jaish-e-Mohammed, which went on to orchestrate some of the deadliest terror attacks against India, including the 2001 Parliament attack and the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Azhar’s latest admission once again reinforces India’s long-standing charge that Pakistan has used terrorism as a formal state policy to target India, offering shelter and impunity to globally wanted terrorists.

That protection has come at a cost. During Operation Sindoor, India’s cruise missile strikes on terror infrastructure deep inside Pakistan, launched in response to the Pulwama attack that killed 26 civilians, at least 10 of Azhar’s family members were killed. Four terrorists whom he described as his “close aides” were also eliminated, according to a statement issued by Azhar a day after the strikes.

For a man who built his career on violence, coercion and mass murder, the audio offers an unfiltered glimpse of fear and defeat, and a reminder of why India has consistently demanded global accountability for Pakistan’s terror ecosystem.