'Gimmicks': India on Pakistan's fresh announcement on Masood Azhar bounty
India has dismissed Pakistan's recent bounty announcement for terrorist Masood Azhar as a 'gimmick' intended to mislead the international community. India continues to demand concrete action against Azhar, who is wanted for multiple major terror attacks.
Why it matters
The diplomatic friction highlights ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan regarding state-sponsored terrorism and international oversight by the FATF.
India on Tuesday (September 15, 2026) dismissed as "gimmicks" Pakistan's fresh announcement of a seven-million-rupee bounty on Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar , demanding that Islamabad take "concrete action" to combat terrorism.
Pakistan has maintained the bounty on Azhar, who continues to be listed in the country's Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) "Red Book" of most-wanted terrorists.
Azhar remains wanted in India for major terror attacks, including the 2001 Parliament strike, the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the 2016 Pathankot airbase assault and the 2019 Pulwama bombing.
"Such gimmicks and hoodwinking by Pakistan is nothing new. We have seen similar gimmicks in the past as well," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his regular media briefing, responding to a question on Pakistan maintaining the bounty on Azhar.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in