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This is an archive article published on January 14, 2016

Pakistan on dangerous road, God’s army won’t feel my absence: Jaish chief Masood Azhar goes online

The piece, written under his pen name Saidi, was published this evening in Al Qalam, considered the Jaish’s online mouthpiece.

Maulana Masood Azhar Maulana Masood Azhar

The road that the government of Pakistan is taking — in its crackdown against the Jaish-e-Muhammad — is “very dangerous for this country” and its steps against mosques, madrasas and jihad are a danger to the unity and integrity of Pakistan, Maulana Masood Azhar wrote today while news of his detention was coming in. The piece, written under his pen name Saidi, was published this evening in Al Qalam, considered the Jaish’s online mouthpiece.

His piece is peppered with references to his days in detention in Tihar, Kot Bhalwal — the Jammu prison from where he was freed in the IC-814 swap — and to his days in Bahawalpur jail in Pakistan and house arrest in the wake of the attempt on former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s life.

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Saying that he cared for neither his “arrest nor killing,” Azhar wrote: “With my killing, neither will my friends will miss me nor will my enemies…an army…which loves death has been prepared.”

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“Allah willing, this army won’t let (our) enemies celebrate for too long,” he continued, “it (his army) won’t let my absence be felt at all. Thanks to Allah, I don’t have any desire that will remain unfulfilled at my death. As for as my family and my children, they are taken care of by Almighty Allah and Almighty Allah will take care of them tomorrow as well.”

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Ridiculing the Pakistan Government, he wrote: “…There is a lot of noise coming from India regarding us — arrest, kill, arrest, kill — and here our rulers are in anguish because, perhaps, we have disturbed their intimacy and friendship (because) they want that on the day of judgment, they should stand as friends of Modi and Vajpayee.”

Explaining Jaish’s stand vis a vis the government in Islamabad, he wrote: “Our thinking regarding Pakistan has always been based on wishing it well and peace…not to save our life and skin but for the interests of Muslim Umma (nation) and in the interest of jihad. I am sorry that the rulers here (in Pakistan) have no respect for that. They (have) continued to be guided by those who are not our own — and they (rulers) continue to turn their own country into a heap of explosives and fire. Each one of them comes and puts their own country on fire and then they flee.”

“I have not harmed the government of Pakistan ever…there is not a single case registered against me in any police station across Pakistan. While I was lodged in Bahawalpur Central jail, the jail administration feared that my friends and companions may attack them. So I was (shifted) to Dera Gazi Khan,’’ Azhar wrote. “I kept on explaining to them that this was my own country…Allah helped and my own home was declared a sub jail and I was kept there.”

In his piece, he also recalls his days in the Jammu jail and refers to incidents around him. For example, he praises the “Kashmiri mujahideen” for standing “like a wall” to stop authorities from moving him to another prison. This is an apparent reference to the scuffle in December 1994 between inmates and police over Azhar’s transfer.

Muzamil Jaleel is a Deputy Editor at The Indian Express and is widely recognized as one of India’s most authoritative voices on Jammu & Kashmir, national security, and internal affairs. With a career spanning over 30 years, he has provided definitive on-the-ground reportage from the heart of the Kashmir conflict, bearing witness to historic political transitions and constitutional shifts. Expertise and Investigative Depth Muzamil’s work is characterized by a rare combination of ground-level immersion and high-level constitutional analysis. His expertise includes: Conflict & Geopolitics: Decades of reporting on the evolution of the Kashmir conflict, the Indo-Pak peace process, and the socio-political dynamics of the Himalayan region. Constitutional Law: Deep-dive analysis of Article 370 and Article 35A, providing clarity on the legal and demographic implications of their abrogation in 2019. Human Rights & Accountability: A relentless investigator of state and non-state actors, uncovering systemic abuses including fake encounters and the custodial death of political workers. International War Reporting: Beyond South Asia, he provided on-the-spot coverage of the final, decisive phase of the Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009. Landmark Exposés & Impact Muzamil’s reporting has repeatedly forced institutional accountability and shaped national discourse: The Kashmir Sex Scandal (2006): His investigative series exposed a high-profile exploitation nexus involving top politicians, bureaucrats, and police officers, leading to the sacking and arrest of several senior officials. Fake Encounters: His reports blew the lid off cases where innocent civilians were passed off as "foreign terrorists" by security forces for gallantry awards. SIMI Investigations: He conducted a massive deep-dive into the arrests of SIMI members, using public records to show how innocuous religious gatherings were often labeled as incriminating activities by investigative agencies. The Amarnath Land Row: Provided critical context to the 2008 agitation that polarized the region and altered its political trajectory. Over the years, Muzamil has also covered 2002 Gujarat riots, Bhuj earthquake, assembly elections in Bihar for Indian Express. He has also reported the peace process in Northern Ireland, war in Sri Lanka and national elections in Pakistan for the paper. Awards and Fellowships His "Journalism of Courage" has been honored with the industry's most prestigious accolades: Four Ramnath Goenka Awards: Recognized for J&K Reportage (2007), On-the-Spot Reporting (2009), and Reporting on Politics and Government (2012, 2017). Kurt Schork Award: From Columbia University for international journalism. Sanskriti Award: For excellence in Indian journalism and literature. IFJ Tolerance Prize: For his empathetic and nuanced reporting in South Asia. International Fellowships: Served as a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley and worked with The Guardian, The Observer, and The Times in London. He has also received Chevening fellowship and a fellowship at the Institute of Social Studies, Hague, Netherlands. Professional Presence Current Location: New Delhi (formerly Bureau Chief, Srinagar). Education: Master’s in Journalism from Kashmir University. Social Media: Follow him for field insights and rigorous analysis on X (Twitter) @MuzamilJALEEL. ... Read More

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