Pakistan raises bounty on Jaish chief Masood Azhar to PKR 70 lakh in a bid to hoodwink FATF to get off gray list

Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has released its 2026 list of most-wanted terrorists, featuring Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar. The bounty on Azhar has been increased by PKR 20 lakh to PKR 70 lakh.

However, sources said the move was a smokescreen to deceive the international community, especially ahead of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary in October, as Pakistan seeks to avoid being placed back on the gray list.

Pakistan said in 2021 that was not in the country and had fled to Afghanistan. FIA had earlier announced a reward of PKR 50 lakh for information that leads to his arrest. The bounty has been increased to PKR 70 lakh five years later by the agency.

Azhar has been accused of masterminding several terror attacks in India, including the February 2019 Pulwama attack. Indian intelligence agencies have done technical analysis for the last six months which showed Azhar is hiding in Nawabshah in Pakistan’s Sindh province, even as Pakistan has been insisting since 2021 that Azhar is hiding in Afghanistan, sources said.

The FIA’s new Red Book also names 19 terrorists allegedly involved in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, including those accused of helping, financing or managing boats used to ferry the attackers.

Sources said that of these 17 terrorists, the FIA has stealthily deleted the photographs, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) affiliations and detailed operational roles of two persons, while the other 15 have been listed with their photographs and specific roles in the 26/11 operation.

The amended list retains the name of Muhammad Khan of Turbat, who is said to have provided the boat Al-Hussaini to ferry the attackers to Mumbai, but drops his photograph, LeT affiliation and operational role. Similarly, the photograph and LeT affiliation of Abdul Rehman of Bahawalnagar have been done away with. Sources said the FIA’s 2021 list had both men’s names, photos and detailed roles.

The latest list has named 11 LeT terrorists for helping the attackers in their sea-borne journey in the boats Al-Hussaini and Al-Fauz. They are Muhammad Amjad Khan, Multan, Shahid Gafoor, Bahawalpur, Mohammad Usman, Sahiwal, Ateeq-ur-Rehman, Lahore, Riaz Ahmad, Hafizabad, Muhammad Mushtaq, Gujranwala, Muhammad Naeem, Dera Ghazi Khan, Abdul Shakoor, Karachi, Muhammad Sabir Salfi, Multan, Muhammad Usman, Lodhran and Shakeel Ahmed, Rahim Yar Khan.

The list also includes names of six terrorists who have been charged for providing financial support for 26/11 attacks.

They include Muhammad Iftikhar Ali of Faisalabad, a LeT operative who allegedly paid PKR 70,000 to set up VOIP connections for communication between the attackers and their handlers; Mohammad Zia of Rawalpindi who allegedly provided PKR 80,000 to LeT; Mohammad Abbas Nasir of Khanewal who allegedly gave PKR 2.53 lakh; Javed Iqbal of Kasur who allegedly provided PKR 1.86 lakh; Mukhtar Ahmad of Mandi Bahauddin who allegedly contributed PKR 2.98 lakh; and Ahmed Saeed of Battagram who allegedly provided PKR 21 lakh for the operation.

The FIA said that the 17 terrorists involved in the 26/11 attacks have been absconding for 18 years. But Indian intelligence sources said all 17 were still in Pakistan and described their inclusion in the FIA's Most Wanted list to deflect international attention.

The number of most-wanted terrorists on Pakistan’s FIA list has increased by about 35% in the past five years from 1,330 in the 2021 Red Book to 1,804 in the latest edition.

During Operation Sindoor, India’s precision strikes targeted the JeM headquarters in Bahawalpur. The Indian Armed Forces said the Markaz Subhanallah was located about 100 km inside Pakistan and was destroyed in the strikes.

Markaz Subhanallah, operational since 2015, was a major center for JeM’s training and indoctrination and was the outfit’s operational headquarters. The facility is linked to JeM’s terror planning, including the February 14, 2019 Pulwama attack.

The complex contained the residences of JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar, the outfit’s de facto chief Mufti Abdul Rauf Asghar, Maulana Ammar and other members of Azhar’s family. Azhar had also delivered several speeches from the facility, in which he propagated anti-India rhetoric and urged young people to join jihad.

The facility was also used by JeM for regular training of its cadres in arms, physical and religious matters.