The Indian government has dismissed Pakistan’s recent decision to increase the reward for information on Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar. During a regular briefing on Tuesday, the Ministry of External Affairs labeled the announcement a “gimmick”. Officials stated that such actions from a “state sponsor of terror” reflect a consistent pattern of behavior.
He founded Jaish-e-Mohammed the following year. Azhar, who was in an Indian jail, was released from Indian custody in December 1999 in exchange for the passengers and crew of Indian Airlines flight IC-814, which was hijacked from Kathmandu and flown to Kandahar in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. This outfit has been blamed for the 2001 Parliament attack, the 2016 Pathankot air base attack and the 2019 Pulwama bombing.
“Such gimmicks and hoodwinking by Pakistan is not new. We have seen such gimmicks in the past as well,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, responding to a question.
“Such gimmicks and hoodwinking by Pakistan is not new. Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency has listed Azhar as a fugitive in its 2026 Red Book of most wanted high-profile terrorists and raised the reward on him by Pakistan rupees 20 lakh to PKR 70 lakh (roughly 24 lakh INR), according to reports citing intelligence sources. The FIA had first placed a reward on him in 2021. JeM’s Markaz Subhanallah facility at Bahawalpur, about 100 km inside Pakistan, was among the sites the Indian armed forces said they destroyed during Operation Sindoor in May 2025, launched after the Pahalgam terror attack.
We have seen such gimmicks in the past as well,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, responding to a question at the media briefing. “For a state sponsor of terror to make an announcement, a phoney announcement — we all know how hollow it is,” Jaiswal said. Azhar subsequently said members of his family and some close associates were killed in the strike.
