Mohammad Tahir Anwar, the elder brother of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, has died in Pakistan under circumstances that remain unclear, reported NDTV.

The banned terrorist organisation confirmed his death through its official channel, announcing that his funeral would take place at Jamia Masjid Usman Wali in Bahawalpur. No details have been released regarding the cause of death, which has added to the air of mystery surrounding the incident.

Anwar was one of Azhar’s five brothers and played a significant role in the operations of Jaish-e-Mohammed. His death marks another blow to the group’s leadership structure, which has faced repeated setbacks in recent years due to targeted strikes and international pressure.

The timing and secrecy around his passing have inevitably drawn speculation, though no official explanation has been offered.

Masood Azhar himself has previously claimed that India’s Operation Sindoor, conducted in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack, killed ten of his family members and four aides. According to Azhar, those killed in the airstrikes on JeM’s Bahawalpur headquarters included his elder sister, her husband, several nieces and nephews, and five children. He described their deaths as a “blessing” and expressed no regret, framing them as martyrs in his extremist narrative.

Azhar, listed as an international terrorist by the United Nations Security Council, has long been associated with some of the deadliest attacks in India.

His involvement spans the 2001 Parliament attack, the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the 2016 Pathankot assault, and the 2019 Pulwama bombing. His arrest in India in 1994 and subsequent release following the IC 814 hijacking remains one of the most controversial episodes in South Asia’s counterterrorism history.

The death of Anwar, therefore, is not just a family matter but one with wider implications for the group’s internal cohesion and its operational capacity.

While the cause of death remains undisclosed, the development underscores the continuing fragility of Jaish-e-Mohammed’s leadership and the persistent shadow of conflict in the region.

NDTV