Tensions between India and Pakistan reached a new threshold after the Indian Armed Forces carried out Operation Sindoor. The military operation targeted nine terror camps across 21 locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Born in Bahawalpur, 1968, Azhar lives in the Pakistani city in a heavily-guarded complex. He rose to prominence in the early 1990s as a leader in Harkat-ul-Ansar and later transitioned to JeM.
Tensions between India and Pakistan reached a new threshold after the Indian Armed Forces carried out Operation Sindoor. The military operation targeted nine terror camps across 21 locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
After the operation, BBC Urdu reported 10 family members and four aides of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar were killed during the Indian strikes in Bahawalpur.
Based on the briefing of the Indian government, the strikes on the Subhan Allah complex in Bahawalpur were one of the two key ones as part of Operation Sindoor.
In Bahawalpur, the Markaz Subhan Allha camp is located 100 kilometres away from the border and is considered to be the headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammed. As per the information issued by the Defence Ministry and MEA, this camp was used for recruitment and training. Terrorist Masood Azhar also frequented this camp.
Mohammad Masood Azhar Alvi is a radical Islamist militant and a globally-designated terrorist. Azhar is also the founder of the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed.
As per the Ministry of Home Affairs, the JeM Chief goes by three aliases - Maulana Masood Azhar, Maulana Mohammad Masood Azhar Alvi and Vali Adam Issa.
Born in Bahawalpur, 1968, Azhar lives in the Pakistani city in a heavily-guarded complex. He rose to prominence in the early 1990s as a leader in Harkat-ul-Ansar and later transitioned to JeM.
In order to to free the passengers and crew of the IC814 plane after their hijack in Kandahar, members of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, led by Azhar's brother, demanded his release.
Following his release from India, Azhar returned to Pakistan and established Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Jaish-e-Mohammed was established in 2000 and since then has been responsible for several attacks in Jammu and Kashmir. As per reports, JeM was created with the alleged backing of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Taliban, Osama Bin Laden and other extremist organisations.
JeM, which is also considered as one of the deadliest organisations operating in Jammu and Kashmir by RAW analysts, has been responsible for several attacks in India.
Some of its notable attacks are the 2001 Parliament Attack, the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the 2016 Uri attack and the 2019 Pulwama strike.
Due to its involvement in several terror attacks, JeM has been designated as a terrorist group by Pakistan, Russia, Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates, the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the United Nations.
In 2019, Azhar was recognised as an international terrorist by the United Nations Security Council.