Undefined Explosive Device (UED) event in Punjab, Bahawalpur area, Pakistan on Mon 1st January 2024

Unverified tweets on X reported on January 1 that Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) ‘chief’ Masood Azhar was reportedly killed in a bomb blast at 5 AM near a mosque in Bahawalpur City (Bahawalpur District) of Punjab, report Economic Times. Social media was flooded with unverified posts and a viral video of the incident. Masood Azhar is wanted in India in cases related to the 2001 Parliament attack. He is also alleged to be associated with attacks including the targeting of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya on July 5, 2005, and the Pulwama attack on CRPF troopers on February 14, 2019. Additionally, he orchestrated an assault on the Indian Consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif in Balkh province of Afghanistan, on January 3, 2016. Azhar also believed to maintain a close association with Al-Qaeda ‘chief’ Osama Bin Laden and the founder of the Taliban, Mullah Omar.