# India slams Pakistan’s bounty on Masood Azhar as hollow gimmick 2026-09-16T09:01:52+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 3 independent outlets India has dismissed Pakistan's bounty of Pakistani Rs 7 million on Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a "phoney announcement" and a "gimmick," urging Islamabad to take concrete action against terrorists on its soil instead. External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a briefing that such stunts are nothing new and are hollow coming from a state sponsor of terrorism. Pakistan has maintained the bounty for Azhar for years. He is wanted by India for the 2001 Parliament attack, the 2016 Pathankot airbase assault, and the 2019 Pulwama bombing. Azhar was freed by India in 1999 in exchange for passengers of hijacked flight IC 814. Pakistan claims Azhar has fled to Afghanistan, a claim the Taliban regime has rejected. New Delhi accuses Islamabad of sheltering him. The Financial Action Task Force is set to review Pakistan's anti-terrorism efforts at a plenary meeting next month. Pakistan was on the FATF grey list from 2018 to 2022 for failing to counter terror financing of groups including JeM. Azhar was designated a global terrorist by the UN Security Council in 2019. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The NDTV opinion piece frames Pakistan's bounty as a yearly ruse tied to FATF pressure, omitting India's 2025 strike on Azhar's family in Bahawalpur. HT and The Hindu report India's dismissal of the bounty as a gimmick, with HT adding context of the FATF review. The coverage across all three is neutral in tone, with no source taking a government-critical stance. The key question is whether the FATF plenary next month will deem Pakistan's actions sufficient to avoid further censure. Next, the FATF plenary in February will decide if Pakistan's steps are enough to stay off the grey list. ## Coverage - ndtv.com (neutral report) Opinion piece but sourced as neutral report on facts presented - hindustantimes.com (neutral report) Straight news report with no discernible slant - thehindu.com (neutral report) Straight news report with no discernible slant Tags: FATF, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Masood Azhar, Ministry of External Affairs, Pakistan Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/india-calls-pakistans-bounty-on-masood-azhar-a-gimmick/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/india-calls-pakistans-bounty-on-masood-azhar-a-gimmick/#story-in-brief