In the remote and picturesque landscapes of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir's Gilgit-Baltistan region, far removed from the chaos he has long orchestrated, India's most wanted terrorist, Masood Azhar, has reportedly surfaced once again. According to fresh intelligence inputs accessed by national media, the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief — long associated with death and destruction in India — has been spotted in Skardu, along the quiet lanes of Sadpara Road.
This mountainous area, known for its serene lakes and natural beauty, hardly seems like the place where the mastermind of some of India’s bloodiest terror attacks would be hiding. But intelligence agencies believe that it is precisely this low profile, tourist-friendly atmosphere that makes Skardu a perfect hideaway. Azhar’s presence in Gilgit-Baltistan, over 1,000 km away from his traditional base in Bahawalpur, suggests a calculated effort to evade surveillance and international scrutiny. The Sadpara Road locality where he was last seen is known to house a couple of mosques, affiliated madrasas, and a cluster of government and private guest houses—ideal infrastructure for someone looking to blend in quietly under layers of religious legitimacy and local patronage.
This development comes just weeks after Pakistan’s former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari appeared to distance Islamabad from Azhar, suggesting in an interview to Al Jazeera that the terrorist might now be in Afghanistan. He even went so far as to claim that Pakistan would willingly hand Azhar over to India, should credible proof of his presence on Pakistani soil be provided. “If and when the Indian government shares information with us that he is on Pakistani soil, we would be more than happy to arrest him,” Bhutto had said—a statement now ringing hollow in light of Azhar’s current movements within Pakistan’s own territory.
Azhar’s name is etched in Indian memory for all the wrong reasons. He is believed to have masterminded numerous terror attacks, most notably the 2016 assault on the Pathankot airbase and the devastating 2019 Pulwama bombing, which claimed the lives of more than 40 CRPF jawans. These were not just attacks—they were wounds that left families broken, soldiers martyred, and a nation in grief.
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Yet, even as Indian intelligence services maintain a close watch, Azhar’s own terror outfit seems to be engaged in a deliberate disinformation campaign. Jaish platforms continue to circulate old audio clips and outdated recordings to make it seem as though their leader remains ensconced in his Bahawalpur base. That base, however, is no ordinary hideout. It comprises two key establishments: Jamia Subhan Allah, the JeM headquarters that India targeted during its post-Pulwama Operation Sindoor strikes, and Jamia Usman O Ali, a mosque located near Azhar's former residence, which sits close to a local hospital—another shrewdly chosen site likely intended to deter direct attacks.
According to intelligence reports, the 2019 airstrike on Jamia Subhan Allah resulted in the deaths of 10 members of Azhar’s extended family. Despite such strikes, and despite being sanctioned by India, the United States, and the United Nations, Azhar has managed to elude capture—time and again. The history of his evasion is long and bitter. In 1999, Masood Azhar was languishing in Indian custody when his followers hijacked an Indian Airlines aircraft and demanded his release. Faced with the lives of innocent passengers hanging in the balance, India was forced to let him go. Azhar returned to Pakistan a free man—and wasted no time in founding Jaish-e-Mohammed, a group that would go on to shed much blood in the years to come.
Also Read: JeM chief Masood Azhar is not in Pakistan: Bhutto
This is not the first time Azhar has been moved around to avoid detection. Following India’s 2019 Balakot airstrikes, which directly targeted a JeM training facility, he was discreetly shifted from Bahawalpur to a secretive location in Peshawar. And Masood Azhar is not the only one enjoying safe haven in Pakistan.
Another designated global terrorist, Syed Salahuddin, head of Hizbul Mujahideen, is also believed to live comfortably in Islamabad. Intelligence sources indicate that he operates out of a well-maintained office in the crowded suburban area of Burma Town and resides in a posh locality nearby. Often, he is seen flanked by armed guards—an open secret in the city’s power corridors, yet curiously unchallenged by Pakistani authorities.
For India, Masood Azhar's reappearance in Gilgit-Baltistan serves as a sobering reminder that justice for innumerable victims is still elusive and goes beyond simple intelligence tracking. While the perpetrator of their suffering travels freely across the border under state protection, families who lost loved ones in Pathankot, Pulwama, and Parliament continue to await accountability. The question that looms as intelligence networks continue to monitor every action is how long and at what cost the world will continue to ignore Pakistan's sheltering of these men.
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