India dismisses Pakistan’s Masood Azhar bounty hike as ‘phoney announcement’, calls for concrete action

Responding to questions during the ministry's regular media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Pakistan needed to take meaningful action against terrorism rather than make announcements that India said carried little consequence.

The remarks came after reports said Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency had listed Azhar as a fugitive in its 2026 Red Book of most wanted high-profile terrorists and increased the reward offered for information about him.

MEA calls Pakistan's move a ‘gimmick’

Jaiswal said India had seen similar announcements from Pakistan in the past and questioned the significance of the latest move.

"Such gimmicks and hoodwinking by Pakistan is not new. We have seen such gimmicks in the past as well," Jaiswal said at the media briefing.

"For a state sponsor of terror to make an announcement, a phoney announcement -- we all know how hollow it is," he added.

The MEA spokesperson said Pakistan should demonstrate action rather than rely on what New Delhi described as symbolic measures.

"They must take action and not make phoney announcements, which are of no consequence," Jaiswal said.

Pakistan lists Azhar in 2026 Red Book

According to reports citing intelligence sources, Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency has included Azhar in its 2026 Red Book of most wanted high-profile terrorists and raised the reward on him from PKR 20 lakh to PKR 70 lakh.

The revised amount is roughly equivalent to INR 24 lakh.

Pakistan's FIA had reportedly first announced a reward for information on Azhar in 2021.

Pakistan lists JeM chief Masood Azhar as "fugitive", hikes bounty

The latest listing keeps the Jaish-e-Mohammed founder formally identified as a fugitive in Pakistan's official records.

The development comes shortly before the Financial Action Task Force's plenary meeting scheduled for October.

Pakistan was removed from the FATF's grey list in October 2022.

The country has since faced continued scrutiny over its efforts to act against money laundering and terrorist financing, including action against individuals and organisations designated by the United Nations.

UN-designated global terrorist

Azhar was designated a global terrorist by the United Nations Security Council in May 2019 after China withdrew a technical hold that had delayed the designation.

The United States has also announced a reward of $10 million for information leading to Azhar.

Azhar is the founder of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed, an organisation blamed for several major terrorist attacks in India, including the 2001 Parliament attack, the 2016 Pathankot air base attack and the 2019 Pulwama bombing.

His case has remained central to India's concerns over cross-border terrorism and Pakistan's action against UN-designated terrorists.

Whereabouts remain disputed

Azhar's whereabouts have remained a matter of dispute, at least officially.

Islamabad has maintained since 2021 that Azhar is not in Pakistan and has claimed that he crossed into Afghanistan. India has rejected Pakistan's account.

Despite those claims, his name has continued to appear in Pakistan's official records as a wanted terrorist, including the FIA's 2026 Red Book, according to reports.

The latest reward increase has renewed attention on the question of Azhar's location and the status of action against him.

Operation Sindoor put focus on Bahawalpur facility

Jaish-e-Mohammed's Markaz Subhanallah facility in Bahawalpur, located about 100 km inside Pakistan, was among the sites that the Indian armed forces said they targeted during Operation Sindoor in May 2025.

India launched the operation following the Pahalgam terror attack.

Azhar later said that members of his family and some of his close associates were killed in the Indian strikes.

The developments once again placed the JeM chief and the group's infrastructure in Pakistan under the spotlight.

IC-814 release and formation of JeM

Azhar had previously been held in Indian custody before being released in December 1999 as part of an exchange to secure the release of passengers and crew aboard Indian Airlines flight IC-814.

The aircraft was hijacked while flying from Kathmandu and eventually taken to Kandahar in Afghanistan, then// under Taliban control.

Following his release, Azhar founded Jaish-e-Mohammed the following year.

The group subsequently emerged as one of the terrorist organisations accused of carrying out major attacks in India, including the Parliament attack in 2001, the Pathankot air base attack in 2016 and the Pulwama bombing in 2019.