A report by a media outlet in Pakistan, on the 3rd of March, put a full stop to the rumors about the death of Masood Azhar, the chief of the Jaish e Mohammed (JeM.)
Geo Urdu News, the aforementioned media source, claimed, the rumors about Masood’s death are fake and he is alive. The information about Azhar being alive was given by one of his close relatives and a member of the JeM, who wished to remain anonymous.
The rumors started on social media platforms, with #MasoodAzharIsDead, after Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the Foreign Minister of Pakistan, on the 1st of March, in an interview with CNN, said, “He is in Pakistan, according to my information. He is unwell to the extent that he can’t leave his house, because he’s really unwell.”
The Indian Air Force said, they do not have any information regarding Azhar’s death. They further added, they only knew that Masood is undergoing treatment at an army hospital in Pakistan.
When asked about the action which is to be taken against Azhar and the JeM, Mr. Qureshi said, the Government of Pakistan will take the necessary action against Azhar and the JeM, if the Government of India presents ‘solid’ and ‘inalienable’ evidence in court to prove the involvement of Azhar and the JeM in carrying out the Pulwama terror attack.
On the other hand, the JeM is angry with the Pakistan Government as they believe the latter has started to crack down terrorist groups.
According to them, the policies against the terrorist groups started after the United States (U.S.,) asked the Government of Pakistan to take a stand against the terrorism in the Country.
The JeM, on the 3rd of March, released a statement, “First they released the Indian pilot and now they have decided to crack down on our seminaries. They are being soft towards the enemy (India) but tough on their own people (JeM.)”
Recently, the U.S., France, the United Kingdom and India approached the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to blacklist Masood Azhar and declare him a ‘global terrorist.’
However, China, one of the permanent veto wielding members of the UNSC, opposed the proposal, bringing the proposal to a standstill.
However, the UNSC is yet to sanction the proposal and has to announce the final decision within 10 working days of the proposal submission.
Masood Azhar is the founder of the JeM and the mastermind behind terrorist attacks such as the 26/11 Mumbai blast, the 9/11 World Trade Organisation attack and the recent Pulwama terror attack.
