Pakistan’s federal investigative agency (FIA) has reportedly issued its 2026 list of most wanted terrorists, with Jaish-e-Mohammed ( JeM ) chief Masood Azhar among those named. The reward for information leading to his capture has been raised from PKR 20 lakh to PKR 70 lakh.
Pakistan has claimed since 2021 that Azhar is no longer in the country and had instead escaped to Afghanistan. The FIA had announced a PKR 50 lakh reward for information leading to his arrest that year. Five years on, the amount has now been increased to PKR 70 lakh. The revised list names 11 Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists who helped arrange the attackers’ sea journey on the boats Al-Hussaini and Al-Fauz: Muhammad Amjad Khan (Multan), Shahid Gafoor (Bahawalpur), Mohammad Usman (Sahiwal), Ateeq-ur-Rehman (Lahore), Riaz Ahmad (Hafizabad), Muhammad Mushtaq (Gujranwala), Muhammad Naeem (Dera Ghazi Khan), Abdul Shakoor (Karachi), Muhammad Sabir Salfi (Multan), Muhammad Usman (Lodhran), and Shakeel Ahmed (Rahim Yar Khan), news agency ANI said in a report. Masood Azhar is among India’s most-wanted terrorists and has been linked to the 2001 Parliament attack, the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the 2016 Pathankot attack and the 2019 Pulwama attack. Earlier reporting noted: Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has increased the reward for information leading to most-wanted terrorist Azhar’s capture by PKR 20 lakh. The agency had announced a PKR 50 lakh bounty on him in 2021. Earlier reporting noted: Pakistan had claimed in 2021 that Azhar was no longer in the country and had fled to Afghanistan. Earlier reporting noted: Masood Azhar-led Jaish stands responsible for numerous terror attacks in India, including Parliament attack that took place in 2001.
The Shehbaz Sharif-led government has since maintained that the JeM chief is not on Pakistani soil.
