Mystery shrouds death of Jaish chief Masood Azhar’s brother Tahir Anwar in Pak

Mohammad Tahir Anwar, brother of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, has died in Pakistan, with no clarity so far on the cause of his death.

Tahir Anwar was closely linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed and had been actively involved in the outfit’s operations for years. His death was confirmed through the group’s official channel, which stated that his funeral would be held late Monday night at Jamia Masjid Usman Wali in Bahawalpur.

There has been no official confirmation regarding the cause of Tahir Anwar’s death, with no mention of illness or any specific incident so far, according to sources, raising questions.

Jaish-e-Mohammed is not a fringe outfit. The group has been associated with several major attacks in India, including the 2001 Parliament attack, the 2016 Pathankot airbase strike, the Uri attack that killed 19 soldiers, and the 2019 Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives.

Indian forces have carried out strikes on Jaish targets inside Pakistan, including its headquarters in Bahawalpur, where several of Azhar’s close relatives were killed. In September last year, Jaish had, for the first time, indirectly acknowledged these losses. A senior commander of the outfit admitted that members of Azhar’s family were killed during India’s strike on Bahawalpur under Operation Sindoor. The strike was part of India’s response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that left 26 people dead.

Indian strikes reduced multiple terror sites to rubble. The Bahawalpur facility — Jamia Masjid Subhan Allah — suffered extensive damage. Around 10 of Masood Azhar’s relatives, including his sister, her husband, a nephew, a niece and children from his extended family, were among those killed. Several of his aides were also killed in the attack.