Jaish chief Masood Azhar's 'thousands of suicide bombers' threat in new audio

Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed has once again tried to flex its muscle through propaganda, with the outfit releasing an audio message purportedly in the voice of its chief Maulana Masood Azhar. The audio, which has surfaced on social media platforms, claims that the outfit has “thousands” of suicide bombers ready to carry out attacks.

However, the exact date and authenticity of the audio message could not be independently verified.

In the message, Azhar is heard making sweeping claims about the strength of his cadre, saying they are not “one, two, or a hundred, not even a thousand”, and adding that revealing the actual number would cause an uproar in global media. He goes on to say that these recruits do not seek material rewards, visas, or personal gains, and only ask for “shahadat” (martyrdom).

The audio seems more of a desperate rant than a credible threat. The timing of the message is significant, coming months after Indian forces carried out strikes on Jaish targets inside Pakistan, including its headquarters in Bahawalpur, in which several of Azhar’s close relatives were killed.

In September last year, Jaish had, for the first time, indirectly acknowledged these losses. A senior commander of the outfit admitted in a video that members of Azhar’s family were killed during India’s strike on Bahawalpur under Operation Sindoor. The strike was part of India’s response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that left 26 dead.

Indian strikes had reduced multiple terror sites to rubble, with the Bahawalpur facility — Jamia Masjid Subhan Allah — suffering extensive damage. Around 10 of Azhar’s relatives, including his sister, her husband, a nephew, a niece and children from his extended family, were among those killed. Several of his aides also died in the pre-dawn attack.

Masood Azhar himself has not been seen publicly since 2019. That year, his Bahawalpur hideout was hit by a powerful blast by unknown attackers, which he survived. Since then, he has largely disappeared from public view, fuelling speculation about his whereabouts.

A UN-designated terrorist, Azhar is the mastermind behind some of the deadliest attacks in India, including the 2016 Pathankot airbase attack and the 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing that killed 44 CRPF personnel. Intelligence inputs in recent months have suggested that he may be operating far from Bahawalpur, possibly in Pakistan-occupied regions.

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