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Pakistan Raises Bounty on Jaish Chief Masood Azhar Before FATF Meet

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Pakistan has raised its reward for information leading to Masood Azhar's arrest to 7 million rupees, weeks before the FATF plenary in Paris.

Pakistan has raised the reward for information leading to the capture of Jaish-e-Mohammed founder Masood Azhar to 7 million Pakistani rupees, equal to about Rs 24.09 lakh in Indian currency. The country's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) still counts him among its most-wanted terrorists.

The decision lands only weeks before the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) holds its plenary session in Paris from October 26 to 30. Those gatherings examine nations placed under closer scrutiny and take up matters tied to money laundering and the financing of terror groups.

For years, officials in Islamabad have insisted that Azhar is no longer inside the country, saying he crossed into Afghanistan. Despite that claim, his details stay on the FIA's books, appearing in its 2026 "Red Book of Most Wanted High-Profile Terrorists."

Azhar, 58, leads Jaish-e-Mohammed, a group based in Pakistan that India blames for several of the deadliest strikes on its soil over the last twenty years. The outfit has long been linked to Bahawalpur, one of the locations India targeted during Operation Sindoor. The United Nations Security Council has named Azhar a global terrorist.

His organisation has been tied to the 2001 attack on Parliament, the 2008 Mumbai assault, the 2016 raid on the Pathankot airbase and the 2019 Pulwama bombing. His name surfaced again after the November 10, 2025 explosion close to Delhi's Red Fort.

From Indian custody to Kandahar

Azhar was once held in India but walked free in the aftermath of the December 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814. Five men seized the plane as it travelled from Kathmandu to Delhi.

The aircraft was flown through Amritsar, Lahore and Dubai before reaching Kandahar in Afghanistan, then held by the Taliban. Following a drawn-out standoff, New Delhi freed Azhar along with two other imprisoned militants to secure the release of the hostages. He set up Jaish-e-Mohammed shortly afterwards, around 1999-2000.

Family losses in Operation Sindoor

Azhar lived through Operation Sindoor, though the offensive claimed several of his relatives. On May 7, India carried out strikes on nine sites housing terrorist infrastructure, acting in response to the Pahalgam attack.

Reports put the toll at no fewer than 10 members of Azhar's family, along with four of his associates. Among the dead were his elder sister, her husband, a nephew, the nephew's wife, a niece and five children from the wider family.

Masood Azhar, Jaish-e-Mohammed, FATF plenary Paris, Pakistan bounty, Operation Sindoor, IC-814 hijacking, cross-border terrorism, Red Fort blast

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