Maulana azhar mahmood biography

Maulana Masood Azhar is a religious leader who supports Muslim separatists fighting in Indian-administered Kashmir.

He features on India's most wanted list of 20 people it accuses of terrorism.

The group he leads, Jaish-e-Mohammad, is accused of a string of deadly attacks on Indian targets, including one on parliament in Delhi in December 2001.

Maulana Azhar was detained for a year by authorities in Pakistan in connection with that attack, but never formally charged.

The Lahore High Court ordered an end to his house arrest on 14 December 2002.

Saqlain mushtaq

Three years earlier, he was freed from an Indian prison in exchange for passengers on a hijacked Indian Airlines jet.

His brother, Ibrahim, is thought to have been one of the hijackers.

Kidnapped tourists

Maulana Azhar set up Jaish-e-Mohammad in early 2000, shortly after being set free by India.

Maulana Masood Azhar: Wanted man

Until then he had denied belonging to any group and his family maintained he was a re