An audio recording allegedly featuring Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar has appeared on social media
In the video he claims his group has many suicide attackers ready for deployment, though the audio remain unverified.
In the recording, Azhar asserts that recruits seek only “shahadat” and do not ask for money, material benefits, or personal favours
An audio recording allegedly featuring Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar has surfaced on social media. In the audio, Azhar claims that his organisation has a large pool of suicide attackers ready for operations. However, the time, location, and authenticity of the recording have not yet been verified.
In the audio message, Azhar is heard claiming that members of his organisation seek only “shahadat” (martyrdom). He says they wake up at 3 a.m. to pray and ask Allah only to be sent for suicide missions—“woh raat ke 3 baje uthkar sirf Allah se shahadat maangte hain”. According to the recording, these individuals do not seek money, property, visas, vehicles, phones, or family-related benefits, but repeatedly demand to be deployed for attacks.
Azhar further claims that such individuals regularly write letters to him, urging or even pressuring him to send them quickly for operations. In the audio, he asserts that the number of such recruits is not small, repeatedly stating that they are “not one, not two, not a hundred, not even a thousand.” He adds that revealing the exact number would cause an uproar in global media.
Masood Azhar has not appeared in public since 2019. That year, his hideout in Bahawalpur was hit by a powerful blast by unknown attackers, which he survived. Since then, he has largely remained out of public view, leading to speculation about his whereabouts and health. Intelligence inputs in recent months have suggested that he may be operating away from Bahawalpur, possibly from Pakistan-occupied regions.
Azhar is a UN-designated terrorist and is accused of masterminding several major attacks in India, including the 2001 Parliament attack, the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the 2016 Pathankot airbase attack, and the 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing that killed 44 CRPF personnel. He has a long history of making inflammatory and anti-India statements.
Security agency reports dated January 9, 2026, have also flagged concerns over terror financing. These reports indicate that Pakistan-based terror groups, including Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba, are attempting to exploit the Gaza crisis to raise funds and recruit new cadres. According to intelligence inputs, Masood Azhar is allegedly overseeing these funding operations through close family members, including his son and brother.
Investigators have noted that these terror groups are increasingly avoiding traditional banking channels to evade scrutiny by international financial regulators such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Instead, funds are reportedly being stored in digital wallets and transferred through platforms such as Easypaisa, cryptocurrencies, and other online payment systems.
[VP]
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