Reports have emerged that Masood Azhar, chief of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad which is responsible for the deadly attack in Pulwama last month, was killed in the air strike carried out by Indian Air Force fighter jets at Balakot. However, no confirmation has come yet from Pakistan army or government.
According to local media reports, Masood Azhar was seriously wounded in the IAF operation and he succumbed to his injuries later in a hospital. A hashtag #MasoodAzharDead is also trending on Twitter.
The reports have emerged amid growing demand from Indian opposition parties for “proof” of the IAF strike at Balakot on February 26. Neither the Air Force nor the government has officially announced the number of casualties in the strike, but unconfirmed reports had claimed that over 300 people, including terrorists and trainers, lost their lives in the operation.
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At least a dozen IAF Mirage 2000 fighter jets crossed the border to pound the biggest terror training camp of JeM at Balakot, a move in retaliation to the Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had recently admitted that Masood Azhar was in Pakistan and that he was seriously unwell. Some media reports claimed that he was undergoing dialysis in a Pakistan army hospital.
India freed Masood Azhar and two other terrorists in 1999 to secure the safe release of passengers of Indian Airlines Flight 814 (IC 814) that was hijacked by Harkat-ul-Mujahideen with tacit support from Pakistan's ISI.
After his release, Masood Azhar and his JeM plotted multiple attacks in India including the Parliament attack in 2001 and the Pathankot attack in 2016. India has been trying to get Masood Azhar listed as a global terrorist, a move supported by all countries in the United Nations Security Council except China.
