A senior Jaish-e-Mohammed commander has directly implicated group chief Masood Azhar in orchestrating some of India’s deadliest terror attacks, reinforcing New Delhi’s charge that Pakistan continues to harbour proscribed groups on its soil.
Masood Ilyas Kashmiri, a top Jaish commander, admitted in a video that Azhar masterminded the 2001 Parliament attack in Delhi and the 2008 Mumbai attacks while operating from his base in Balakot, Pakistan. The revelation undermines Islamabad’s long-standing denials of offering sanctuary to terrorists.
“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 Delhi and Bombay [Mumbai]—this is how Maulana Masood Azhar, the Amir-ul-Mujahideen who terrorised the country, appears,” Kashmiri said in the footage.
The remarks bolster India’s claims that Jaish operated training and operational bases under the protection of Pakistan’s military-security establishment, despite public assertions by Islamabad that there are “no terrorist hideouts” within its borders.
Kashmiri further revealed that the May 7 strike on Jaish’s Bahawalpur headquarters, Jamia Masjid Subhan Allah, inflicted heavy losses. He claimed that family members of Azhar were among those killed, saying they were “torn apart” in the bombing.
The strike formed part of Operation Sindoor, during which Indian forces hit multiple terror launchpads across Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.
Also Read : Jaish admits Op Sindoor impact, Azhar's family 'torn'
In another disclosure, Kashmiri alleged that Pakistan Army Chief Gen Asim Munir ordered generals to attend funerals of slain Jaish operatives in Bahawalpur. Videos circulating on social media earlier this year showed senior Pakistani military officers leading funeral processions, which drew strong condemnation from India.
Kashmiri also invoked Osama bin Laden as a “martyr” who influenced Jaish’s ideological direction, further exposing the links between global jihadist networks and groups nurtured on Pakistani soil.
The Jaish commander’s account leaves Islamabad with little room to maintain its narrative of innocence.
For New Delhi, the admission adds to long-standing evidence of Pakistan’s duplicity — cooperating with the West in counterterrorism on the surface, while protecting jihadist assets behind the scenes.
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