- Name: Mohammed Masood Azhar Alvi
- Birthplace: Bahawalpur, Punjab province, Pakistan
- Designation: Founder and leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), a Pakistan-based terrorist organisation
- Earlier Role: Served as General Secretary of Harakat-ul-Mujahideen (HUM) – also known as Harakat-ul-Ansar, Al Hadid, Al Hadith, or Al Faran
- HUM changed its name to Harakat-ul-Mujahideen in 1997 after the United States designated Harakat-ul-Ansar as a terrorist group
- HUM, led by Fazlur Rehman Khalil, was associated with Osama bin Laden, and was involved in targeting US and Western interests
- Masood Azhar entered India in January 1994 using a false Portuguese passport
- He was arrested in February 1994 in India for terrorist activities
- In December 1999, he was released in exchange for 155 hostages of the hijacked Indian Airlines flight IC-814, taken to Kandahar, Afghanistan
Designations & Sanctions:
- India:
- Declared a Proclaimed Offender by the Special Judge (POTA), New Delhi
- Notified as a Terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on 4 September 2019by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India
- Involved in multiple terror incidents in India, including preaching violence and anti-India narratives
- United Nations:
- Designated a Global Terrorist by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on 1 May 2019
- Listed under the ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee Resolutions
- Cited for:
- Participating in financing and planning of terror activities
- Supporting and facilitating actions of Jaish-e-Mohammed
- United States:
- Declared a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the US Department of State in 2010
- JeM listed as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation under US law
- Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM):
- Listed as a terrorist group under the ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee on 17 October 2001
- Known to be linked with Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, and the Taliban
(Source: Indian Embassy (USA), MHA (GOI), UNSC, US State Department)