Highlights
- Maulana Masood Azhar is probably present in Afghanistan's Nangarhar and Kanhar areas
- FATF has forced Islamabad to take action against some of the UN-designated terrorists
- Through such actions, the FATF has offered the possibility of getting out from the grey list
Pakistan has written a letter to Afghanistan for the arrest of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar, media reports said. According to Pakistani media outlet Bol News, Maulana Masood Azhar is probably present in Afghanistan's Nangarhar and Kanhar areas.
This report comes after Paris-based international watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has forced Islamabad to take action against some of the UN-designated terrorists, offering the possibility of getting out from the grey list now.
Notably, Pakistan's recent action on Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operational commander Sajid Mir, which it kept on declaring dead until now, is the result of FATF's persistent pressure on Pakistan.
Pakistan maintains that Azhar is not present in Pakistan and likely to be in Afghanistan.
Despite claims by Pakistan that he is not traceable, he continues to publish articles on Pakistani social media networks exhorting JeM cadres to indulge in Jihad and eulogizing the Taliban takeover of Kabul, claiming that Taliban victory would open avenues for Muslim victories elsewhere, reported South Asia Press.
According to earlier reports, India's most wanted terrorist Masood Azhar remains in a densely populated area of Pakistan, so an operation similar to the one by the US against Osama bin Laden may not be implemented.
The reports said Pakistan continues to provide a safe haven to terror masterminds including Masood Azhar, who heads Jaish-e- Mohammed terror group.
(With inputs from ANI)
