NEW DELHI, Dec 13: Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar has admitted he paid a high price for trying to escape from jail in Jammu in the 1990s.
He was heard narrating the failed attempt to escape from jail by digging a tunnel in an audio clip of his speech in Pakistan.
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Azhar is the mastermind of the attack on Parliament in 2001, Mumbai in 2008 and many others in India and is presently operating in Pakistan.
Azhar recalled how his attempt to escape from Kot Bhalwal jail by digging a tunnel failed on the day he planned to escape.
In the audio clip, he said he had been digging a tunnel for a while in Kot Bhalwal using tools that he somehow got. On the day that he had set for escape via the tunnel, the jail authorities found what he had been up to.
He said that to this day, he still feared the jail authorities, who thrashed him and other terrorists for making the escape plan.
“The tunnel was discovered by them on the last day of my escape plan,” Azhad said.
After the failed escape attempt, the jail became a tough place for him and a few other inmates due to strict enforcement of rules, including physical punishment for violations. He said he was tied in chains, and restrictions were imposed on routine activities.
The admission by the terrorist clearly proved once again what India has been saying for a long time about Pakistan using terror as a formal state policy to harass India.
Azhar came to India in February 1994 with a fake identity and a Portuguese passport. His objective was to spread jihad in Jammu and Kashmir and recruit terrorists.
That same year, he was arrested in Anantnag. He remained in jail from 1994 to 1999. During this time, terrorists made many attempts to free him and failed.
However, amid the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 in December 1999, the Government released Masood Azhar in exchange for the hostages. Thereafter, he founded the terror group JeM. He has since been linked to several terror attacks in India and is now one of India’s most wanted terrorists. (PTI)
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