India has already handed Pakistan a dossier about Jaish-e-Mohammed’s complicity in the Pulwama attack of February 14 and about the presence of terror camps and terrorist leaders on Pakistani soil
New Delhi: It has now been established beyond doubt that Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar, India’s most wanted terrorist, is in Pakistan and is unwell.
In an interview with CNN, Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Azhar was unwell, so much so, that he was not able to leave his house.
The foreign minister, who has decided to boycott the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meet in which Indian minister of external affairs Sushma Swaraj spoke as the chief guest on Friday, also said that Pakistan would arrest the terrorist chief when India provides adequate evidence. Pakistan is a founder member of the OIC and, therefore, Qureshi's decision to pull out of the meet is significant.
“He (Azhar) is in Pakistan, according to my information. He is very unwell. He is unwell to the extent that he cannot leave his house,” Qureshi told CNN.
Also read: India, France seek United Nations ban on Masood Azhar and other JeM terrorists
India has already handed Pakistan a dossier about JeM’s complicity in the Pulwama attack of February 14 and about the presence of terror camps and terrorist leaders on Pakistani soil.
Replying to why Azhar was not being arrested, Qureshi took cover behind the Rule of Law, saying that India needed to present evidence that was admissible in Pakistani courts. He said due process of law needed to be followed.
Meanwhile, captured Indian MiG-21 Bison pilot Abhinandan Varthaman is set to be handed over to Indian authorities at Wagah.
Also read: Who is Masood Azhar and how Jaish-e-Mohammed became the deadliest terror outfit
India on Thursday also produced credible evidence that a Pakistani F-16 had been downed by a MiG-21 Bison in an engagement that ensued after a large package of Pakistani fighter jets tried to get inside Indian airspace and attack Indian defence installations.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) produced as evidence an air-to-air missile (AAMRAM) Aim 120C, which only the F-16, of all fighter aircraft that Pakistan has, can carry. The missile parts were recovered from Rajouri sector.
The Pulwama terrorist attack was the biggest on the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir, which saw the death of nearly 50 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans. In retaliation, India launched an aerial strike on terror camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan’s Balakot on February 26.
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