NEW DELHI, Jan 11:
An audio clip allegedly featuring Masood Azhar, chief of the banned terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), has surfaced online, in which he claims that a large number of suicide attackers are ready to carry out strikes at any time.
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The authenticity and date of the recording, however, could not be independently verified.
In the audio, Azhar is heard claiming that the number of suicide bombers with his organisation runs into the thousands.
He says they are constantly urging him to allow them to cross over and carry out attacks, adding that revealing the actual figure would shock the global media.
He also describes these individuals as highly motivated and willing to die for what he calls their cause.
Masood Azhar is a UN-designated terrorist who has long been accused of orchestrating attacks against India while operating from Pakistan.
He has a history of making inflammatory statements targeting India and is accused of planning several major terror strikes, including the attack on Parliament in two thousand one and the Mumbai attacks in two thousand eight.
The reported audio message comes months after Indian forces carried out strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammed facilities in Pakistan, including the group’s headquarters in Bahawalpur.
Those strikes were launched in response to the April attack in Pahalgam in which 26 people were killed.
Reports had said that several of Azhar’s close relatives were among those killed in the strikes.
Meanwhile, Delhi Police sources have linked a suspect in a recent blast in the national capital, which left at least 15 people dead and several others injured, to Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Masood Azhar has not appeared in public since 2019, when his hideout in Bahawalpur was hit by a powerful explosion by unidentified attackers, which he survived. Since then, he has largely remained out of sight. (PTI)
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