The news of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar suffering a heart attack has resurfaced yet again.
Azhar is said to have suffered a cardiac arrest in Afghanistan following which he was moved to Karachi for treatment. He is likely to be treated at Pakistan’s largest military hospital in Rawalpindi, reports also said.
Top officials however confirm to Organiser that the information is not verified and this could another tactic of the ISI to divert attention. Such reports have come out several times in the past and it has been found that it had been done only to divert attention.
Diversionary tactic
Recently Azhar came under the scanner for delivering a speech before a large audience at an Islamic seminary in Bahawalpur in Pakistan’s Punjab province. As usual he spewed venom against Bharat and vowed to continue with attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.
Azhar is a designated terrorist by Bharat, the US and the United Nations. Questions had been raised as to how this man is roaming around scot free when he is wanted by so many countries. New Delhi said that this incident clearly exposes Pakistan’s duplicity.
Azhar is involved in cross border terror attacks and we demand that strong action be taken against him, the Ministry of External Affairs had said.
The public speech was an audacious act by Azhar and exposed Pakistan’s establishment for allowing such an event. This has in turn upped the heat on Islamabad and could be well taken up at the global level.
Pakistan barely managed to get out of the Grey List of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recently after assuring that it would do more against terror funding. At such a time Azhar delivering a speech in public does not bode well and Islamabad could soon be in trouble. Hence this news of him suffering a heart attack could well be a diversionary ploy by the ISI, officials explained.
Not the first time
At least on two occasions, Pakistan has spread misinformation regarding Masood Azhar. In the aftermath of the Pulwama attack there were reports that he may have died.
Following the Balakot air strikes which were carried out by the Indian Air Force to avenge the Pulwama attack, there were reports that Azhar was bed-ridden.
The fact of the matter is that following these incidents, he has always been moved to Rawalpindi where he is kept under the safe protection of the Pakistan army and ISI.
Whenever the heat on him is low, he is a free man and roams the country.
An Intelligence assessment done earlier this year suggested that Azhar had attended at least three weddings last year. He was fit and fine when several rumours about his health were being spread.
The recent speech that he made was in November this year. At that time he looked hale and hearty. The other question that arises is what was he doing in Afghanistan at the time of his alleged heart attack.
The ISI would not send him to Afghanistan at this time considering the aggression by the Pakistan army in that country. Air strikes were reported and the Taliban has vowed revenge. At such a time Azhar would not be anywhere in Afghanistan as he is one of Pakistan’s most prized asset.
A prized asset
There are some persons in Pakistan that the ISI would always shield. They are Masood Azhar, Hafiz Saeed and Dawood Ibrahim. These prized assets will always be treated like VIPs in Pakistan as long as they are alive.
While Dawood brings in the money, the likes of Saeed and Azhar are used to radicalise, recruit Muslim youth and strike terror in Bharat.
When it comes to Azhar the ISI has gone out of its way. It all began with hijacking the Indian airline to secure his release from Bharat. The IC-814 hijack was planned by Azhar’s brother Rauf Asghar and executed by the ISI. This eventually led to the release of Azhar in exchange for the hostages on the plane.
Once he returned to Pakistan he floated the Jaish-e-Mohammad, following which he masterminded the Parliament attack. Despite pressure and the grave risk of going to war with India, Azhar still remained protected.
A few years after the Parliament attack, Azhar plotted the assassination of former Pakistan president, General Pervez Musharraf. One would have thought that this would be the last straw for Azhar. All that transpired was a brief falling out following which he was back in business and till date remains an asset for the ISI.
