Pakistan on Monday announced a reward of 70 lakh Pakistani rupees for information leading to the arrest of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) founder and chief Masood Azhar (58), the move coming just weeks ahead of the plenary meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in Paris from October 26 to 30.Azhar is wanted in India in connection with several terror cases, including the 2001 attack on Parliament. He was also among the 20 fugitives India sought from Pakistan, a demand it renewed after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, which were carried out by 10 Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorists who killed 166 people. The Indian authorities have also linked JeM to subsequent attacks, including the 2016 Pathankot airbase attack and the 2019 Pulwama bombing.Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) continues to list Azhar in its “Red Book” of most-wanted terrorists, according to intelligence sources. The FIA on Monday raised the bounty on Azhar by PKR 20 lakh. The sources said by increasing the reward, Pakistan appeared to be seeking to avoid falling back into the FATF “grey list”, which identifies jurisdictions with weak measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.Pak most-wanted terrorists up 35%Most-wanted terrorists in Pak ‘Red Book’ up 35%, from 1,330 in 2021 to 1,804 in 2026Apart from Azhar, updated list has 19 terrorists involved in the 26/11 Mumbai attacksWhile 17 are listed with their photos and specific roles, 2 have only names mentionedIndia has for years accused Pakistan of sheltering Azhar, while Pakistan has maintained that he fled to Afghanistan, a claim rejected by Afghanistan’s Taliban government. Technical analysis by Indian intelligence agencies over the past six months reveals that he is actively hiding in the Nawabshah city of Pakistan’s Sindh province.Azhar’s name was included in the FIA’s “Red Book” of most-wanted terrorists in 2021. Apart from Azhar, the updated list contains the names of 19 terrorists involved in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks who assisted, financed, or managed boats for the operatives.While 17 of these terrorists are listed along with their photographs and specific roles in the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan has covertly removed the photographs, LeT affiliations and detailed operational roles of two terrorists—Muhammad Khan from Turbat and Abdul Rehman from Bahawalnagar—retaining only their names. Muhammad Khan had provided the boat Al-Hussaini to transport the attackers to Mumbai.The updated roster lists 11 LeT terrorists responsible for facilitating the sea journey of the Mumbai attackers aboard 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).The list also has the names of six terrorists who provided financial backing for the attacks. They are Muhammad Iftikhar Ali (Faisalabad), an LeT operative (gave PKR 70,000 to set up VOIP connections enabling communication between the attackers and their handlers); Mohammad Zia (Rawalpindi), gave PKR 80,000; Mohammad Abbas Nasir (Khanewal), contributed PKR 2,53,000; Javed Iqbal (Kasur), gave PKR 1,86,430; Mukhtar Ahmad (Mandi Bahauddin), donated PKR 2,98,047; and Ahmed Saeed (Battagram), gave PKR 21 lakh. According to the FIA, all 17 terrorists involved in the Mumbai attacks had been absconding for 18 years.However, Indian intelligence sources confirm that all 17 individuals remained inside Pakistan, and that placing them on the FIA most-wanted list was merely an eyewash to misdirect international scrutiny.Over the past five years, the total count of most-wanted terrorists in Pakistan had surged by 35 per cent, growing from 1,330 terrorists in the FIA’s 2021 Red Book to 1,804 in the latest release.Azhar has also been designated an international terrorist by the United Nations Security Council. His name was also linked to the November 10, 2025, blast near Red Fort. He was once in Indian custody and lodged in Jammu’s Kot Bhalwal jail, but released after the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 in December 1999. Five terrorists hijacked the aircraft while it was flying from Kathmandu to Delhi.The aircraft was then diverted through Amritsar, Lahore and Dubai before eventually being taken to Kandahar in Afghanistan, which was then under Taliban control. After a prolonged hostage crisis, India agreed to release Azhar and two other jailed terrorists in exchange for the passengers. After his release, he founded the JeM around 1999-2000.JeM operates from Pakistan, with its base traditionally associated with Bahawalpur, one of the sites heavily bombarded by India during Operation Sindoor. While Azhar survived Operation Sindoor, at least 10 members of his family were killed. Those killed included Azhar’s elder sister, her husband, a nephew, the nephew’s wife, a niece and five children from the extended family.