‘Masood Azhar is in Pakistan’: Taliban embarrasses Islamabad again amid FATF scrutiny
In another embarrassment for the Shehbaz Sharif-led government, the Taliban asserted on Wednesday that Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar is in Pakistan.
In another embarrassment for the Shehbaz Sharif-led government, the Taliban asserted on Wednesday that Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar is in Pakistan. Islamabad had written a letter to its neighbouring country stating that the terrorist might be hiding in either Nangarhar or Kunar. While Pakistan has continued to peddle the ludicrous claim that it had no knowledge of Azhar’s whereabouts, he continues to publish articles exhorting JeM cadres to indulge in Jihad and eulogizing the Taliban takeover of Kabul,
Speaking exclusively to TOLOnews, Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said, “The leader of the Jaesh-e-Mohammad group is not here in Afghanistan. This is an organization which could be in Pakistan. Anyway, he is not in Afghanistan and we have not been asked anything like this. We have heard about it in the news. Our reaction is that this is not true.”
Earlier, Afghanistan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi also rubbished the claim that the terrorist is hiding in his country. In a veiled swipe at Pakistan, he stressed, “We reiterate that IEA does not allow any armed oppositions in its territory to operate against any other country. We also call on all parties to refrain from such allegations lacking any proof and documentation. Such media allegations can adversely affect bilateral relations”. Pakistan’s attempt to pass the buck on Masood Azhar comes amid pressure from FATF to take action against UNSC-designated terrorists.
Masood Azhar eludes justice
Masood Azhar formed the JeM after being released by India in exchange for passengers of the hijacked Indian Airlines plane which was diverted to Kandahar in 1999. Back then, the Taliban regime had allowed the hijackers and freed terrorists including Azhar to cross over into Pakistan. The JeM is responsible for carrying out multiple terror attacks in India including the 2001 Parliament attack, the 2016 Pathankot airbase attack and the 2019 Pulwama attack. On February 28, 2019, the then Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi admitted that Azhar is in Pakistan.
While China blocked India’s proposal to blacklist the Pakistan-based terrorist in 2009, 2016 and 2017, it finally lifted its veto in May 2019 paving the way for his designation as a “global terrorist”. With the sanctions committee of the UNSC approving the listing, he is now subject to an assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo. On January 7, 2021, the Anti-Terrorism Court in Gujranwala issued the JeM chief’s arrest warrant for his involvement in terror financing and selling Jihadi literature.
