Senior militant figure reportedly killed in Bahawalpur; no official confirmation yet
April 30, 2026: A senior commander of Jaish-e-Mohammed, Maulana Salman Azhar, has reportedly died under suspicious circumstances in Bahawalpur. According to reports, Azhar was killed after being hit by an unidentified vehicle. However, Pakistani authorities have not officially confirmed the incident so far.
Azhar was considered a close aide of Masood Azhar and was believed to play a key role in the group’s operations. His death comes amid a pattern of senior militant figures dying under unclear circumstances in Pakistan. In June 2025, another Jaish commander, Maulana Abdul Aziz Isar, died in Punjab province, with reports attributing it to a heart attack, though details remained unverified.
In recent months, multiple incidents have targeted individuals linked to militant networks. On April 26, Sheikh Yusuf Afridi, a close aide of Hafiz Saeed, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen. In a separate attack, Amir Hamza survived a gun assault in Lahore but sustained serious injuries, highlighting a series of unexplained incidents involving militant leaders in the region.