Pakistan Names Jaish Chief Masood Azhar Wanted Terrorist In Deceitful Bid To Escape FATF Grey List

Pakistan's FIA includes Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar in its 2026 most-wanted Red Book and hikes his bounty to PKR 70 lakh, in what sources call a smokescreen ahead of October's FATF plenary

PGurus Newsdesk

September 14, 2026

Masood Azhar, already under UN sanctions since 2019, is now named in Pakistan's own most-wanted list, with his bounty hiked to PKR 70 lakh

Pakistan hikes bounty on Masood Azhar to PKR 70 lakh ahead of FATF plenary

Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has included Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar in its 2026 Red Book of most-wanted terrorists, raising the bounty on him by PKR 20 lakh to PKR 70 lakh. The move, sources say, is little more than a smokescreen timed to precede the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary in October, as Islamabad tries to avoid slipping back onto the FATF grey list.

A Bounty With A History

Pakistan’s relationship with Azhar’s whereabouts has long been murky. In 2021, Islamabad began claiming Azhar had fled the country for Afghanistan, even as the FIA placed an initial PKR 50 lakh reward on him that same year. Five years on, that reward has now been raised to PKR 70 lakh — even as Azhar’s actual location and activities remain a matter of dispute. He has already been under United Nations Security Council sanctions since 2019, meaning Pakistan’s own listing, while significant, isn’t a new international designation.

JeM's Bahawalpur headquarters, linked to the Pulwama attack, was among the sites destroyed by India during Operation Sindoor — JeM’s Bahawalpur headquarters, linked to the Pulwama attack, was among the sites destroyed by India during Operation Sindoor

Why Now

The timing lines up closely with renewed international scrutiny of Pakistan’s counter-terrorism and terror-financing record. Pakistan was previously placed under FATF’s increased monitoring over deficiencies in its anti-money-laundering framework before being removed from the grey list in October 2022, and the FATF’s June 2026 list currently does not include Pakistan. Sources describe the fresh listing of Azhar as a deliberate, well-timed gesture meant to preempt questions at the upcoming plenary rather than a genuine shift in enforcement.

The Bahawalpur Connection

Azhar’s group has been directly linked to some of the most significant terror attacks against India, including the Pulwama attack of February 14, 2019. JeM’s operational headquarters, the Markaz Subhanallah facility in Bahawalpur — roughly 100 km inside Pakistan and active since 2015 — served as its main training and indoctrination centre, and was among the sites the Indian Armed Forces confirmed destroying during Operation Sindoor. The complex reportedly housed residences belonging to Azhar, JeM’s de facto chief Mufti Abdul Rauf Asghar, and other family members, with Azhar known to have delivered anti-India addresses from the site.

Sources also allege Pakistan has quietly altered how it lists other wanted individuals tied to the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, including removing photographs of some accused Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives from the same Red Book — adding to doubts about how seriously the listing exercise is meant to be taken.

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