Islamabad : Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has continued to list Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar in its most-wanted terrorists list, with a cash reward of Rs 70 lakh for information leading to his arrest, officials confirmed on Monday.
According to FIA officials, Azhar's name features in the Agency's Red Book, which contains details of most-wanted terrorists. His name was first added in 2021 and has been retained in the latest 2026 Red Book as well.
The entry, made at Serial No. 1480, identifies him as the head of Jaish-e-Mohammed. The Red Book currently has a total of 1,804 names. As per the description in the list, Azhar is of medium height, healthy and heavily built. The entry was made on the request of Punjab Home Department on December 31, 2021.
The FIA record shows three cases registered against Azhar:
- FIR No. 17/20 dated Dec 3, 2020 at CTD Police Station Gujranwala under Anti-Terrorism Act
- FIR No. 8/20 dated March 9, 2020 at CTD Police Station Multan
- FIR No. 4/21 dated March 29, 2021 at CTD Police Station Lahore
The reward notice in the book reads - "The Federal/Provincial Govt. of Pakistan is offering a reward of up to Rs. 7,000,000/- for information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction of Maulana Masood Azhar S/o Khuda Baksh".
Azhar, founder of JeM, is one of India's most wanted terrorists. He is wanted for several terror attacks in India including the 2001 Parliament attack, 2016 Pathankot airbase attack and 2019 Pulwama terror attack. He was among the 20 fugitives India had asked Pakistan to hand over after the 2008 Mumbai attacks in which 166 people were killed by 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists.
For years, India has alleged that Azhar is being sheltered inside Pakistan, while Islamabad has claimed he fled to Afghanistan, a claim denied by the Taliban government in Afghanistan.
*Timing Significant*
The move comes just ahead of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary meeting to be held in Paris from October 26 to 30. The FATF meeting will review actions taken by countries against money laundering and terror financing.
Pakistan was placed on FATF's grey list in 2018 and remained there till 2022, when it was removed after completing two action plans related to strengthening its anti-money laundering and counter-terror financing systems.