New Delhi: A senior Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) commander has directly tied the group’s chief, Masood Azhar, to terror strikes in Delhi and Mumbai, challenging Pakistan’s long-standing denials of providing sanctuary to militant leaders.
In a video confession, Masood Ilyas Kashmiri said Azhar planned operations against India from Pakistani soil after being freed from Tihar Jail in 1999. He described Balakot as Azhar’s stronghold, the same site targeted by Indian airstrikes in 2019. “After escaping the prison of Tihar Jail in Delhi, Amir-ul-Mujahideen Maulana Masood Azhar comes to Pakistan. The soil of Balakot provides him a base to carry forward his vision, mission, and programme in Delhi and Bombay [Mumbai],” Kashmiri declared.
He also praised Osama bin Laden as a “martyr”, underlining the ideological roots of JeM’s campaign. The statement backs India’s assertions that Pakistan’s territory was used for training and sheltering terrorists.
According to Kashmiri, Indian strikes under Operation Sindoor severely damaged JeM’s Bahawalpur headquarters, Jamia Masjid Subhan Allah, on May 7, killing Azhar’s family members. The operation followed the April 22 Pahalgam attack in which 26 civilians lost their lives.
In another disclosure, Kashmiri said Pakistan’s Army Chief, Gen Asim Munir, ordered senior officers to attend funerals of JeM fighters killed in the strikes. Videos from May had shown top military officials at such ceremonies, which India condemned as glorification of proscribed terrorists.
The revelations add weight to India’s claims of Pakistan’s military-security nexus shielding and supporting extremist networks.