Maulana Masood Azhar, Chief of Pakistan-backed Jaish-e-Mohammed, Dead: Reports

Notably, tension between India and Pakistan escalated after deadly terror attack in Pulwama that claimed lives of CRPF personnel. The responsibility of  the attack was claimed by Azhar's JeM.

New Delhi: Masood Azhar, chief of terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), which claimed responsibility for the ghastly Pulwama attack is reportedly dead. If reports are to be believed, Azhar breathed his last on March 2 at a military hospital in Pakistan’s Rawalpindi. However, there was no credible confirmation about his (Masood Azhar) death from any authoritative sources.

While top sources claimed that the dreaded terrorist died of liver cancer , several reports alleged that the JeM chief was killed in the Indian Air Force (IAF) strike in Balakot. “After getting seriously injured in the air strike, Masood Azhar died in a hospital,” reports claimed today.

Meanwhile, the terror organisation has claimed that Azhar is very much alive.

The purported development comes days after Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi admitted that the Jaish founder was in Pakistan but very ‘unwell’. In an interview to CNN, Qureshi was quoted saying that Azhar was unwell to an extent ‘that he cannot even leave his house’. On being asked why Pakistan has failed to arrest Azhar, Qureshi said India must give actionable evidence to Pakistan against Azhar.

Notably, tension between India and Pakistan escalated after deadly terror attack in Pulwama that claimed lives of CRPF personnel. The responsibility of  the attack was claimed by Azhar’s JeM.

In retaliation, India on Tuesday carried ‘pre-emptive’ non-military strikes on biggest hideouts of JeM in Balakot during wee hours. Pakistan in return violated Indian airspace on Wednesday. However, their jets were pushed back by the Indian Air Force. (Masood Azhar’s Brother Confirms IAF Strikes on JeM Terror Camps in Pakistan’s Balakot)

Earlier on Wednesday, India had handed over a dossier to Pakistan on ‘specific details’ of involvement of JeM in the Pulwama terror attack. “A dossier was handed over to Pakistani side with specific details of JeM complicity in Pulwama terror attack and the presence of JeM terror camps and its leadership in Pakistan,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

“Regret was expressed at continuing denial by Pakistan’s political and military leadership at the presence of terrorist infrastructure in territories under its control,” it added.