A recent religious conference in Pakistan's Balakot tehsil, which was said to be focused on the teachings and life of Prophet Mohammed, has come under the spotlight for hosting anti-India speeches and pro-jihad slogans.
Intelligence officials told NDTV that the 38th annual 'Mission Mustafa' convention started at 10 am and was attended by thousands of people from the Gadi Habibullah and nearby areas. Different renowned Islamic scholars from different schools of thought spoke at the convention during the day.
Most of the discussion was on 'Khatm-e-nubuwat,' or the 'finality' of the Prophet, sources said.
A video clip of a speech by Masood Ilyas Kashmiri, who is a top leader of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group involved in several attacks on India, including the 2016 attacks on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot in Punjab state and an Army camp in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, surfaced as one of the highlights.
In the video, Kashmiri gave a speech full of terrorist undertones, glorifying Masood Azhar, the leader of Jaish, as "a global symbol of resistance. discussed by world powers from Washington to Moscow."
Intel sources indicated that Kashmiri denounced Azhar being branded a terrorist and, in comments taken by Delhi as affirmation of Pakistan's support for cross-border terrorism, hailed "25 years of struggle for ideological borders and sacrifices."
"Embracing terrorism, we fought Delhi, Kabul, and Kandahar to protect the borders of this country (Pakistan). After sacrificing everything, on May 7, Maulana Masood Azhar's family was torn apart by Indian forces in Bahawalpur," Kashmiri said in Urdu, with gun-wielding guards in the background.
This is a reference to family members of Masood Azhar who were eliminated in Operation Sindoor, the Indian military operation against the Pahalgam terror attack. In the operation, Indian military targeted nine terrorist camps and training facilities in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) such as Jaish's headquarters in Bahawalpur.
Sources within the NIA and Intelligence Bureau have verified to NDTV that the video shows Masood Ilyas Kashmiri, a Rawlakote-based Jaish-e-Mohammad commander in PoK. Kashmiri has been a mastermind behind several attacks on Indian soil, and the NIA had filed a chargesheet against him for the 2018 terror attack in Sunjwan Military Station. While usually operating in secret, he has also engaged in training JeM operatives in PoK.
A quote attributed to Azhar stated that ten members from his family were killed. India has apologized for civilian losses while stating that every effort was made to minimize them and all the targets were thoroughly checked to be directly linked with terrorist operations.
Intel sources also went on to say that Kashmiri denounced the abandonment of militants—or 'mujahideen'—and demanded the revival and intensification of jihad, implying it could reach as far as targeting Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Masood Azhar is one of India's most wanted terrorists, directly or indirectly connected to the 2001 Indian Parliament attack and 2008 Mumbai 26/11 attacks. The United Nations designated him as a global terrorist in 2019. Azhar was earlier in Indian custody but was let off during the Kandahar hijacking swap deal in 1999 for the IC-814 passengers.
Since his release, he has been reportedly living in exile in Pakistan. India has persistently asked Pakistan to extradite Azhar and Hafiz Saeed, the leader of the outlawed Lashkar-e-Taiba organization. Pakistan has persistently denied any knowledge; in an interview with Al Jazeera in July, Pakistani politician Bilawal Bhutto said Azhar could be in Afghanistan.
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