Pakistan would state that it has not been able to proceed against Masood Azhar because they are not aware of his whereabouts. However, India would counter this lie with documents, dossiers, which also have the statements of Pakistan’s foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
During the ongoing plenary of the Financial Action Task Force, Pakistan would cite the disappearance of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar.
Pakistan would tell the FATF that it has not been able to file an FIR against Azhar as they do not know his whereabouts. However, India is ready to call out this bluff and has prepared ample material to prove that Pakistan is lying.
Azhar is in Bahawalpur:
The intercepts picked up by the Indian agencies clearly show that Azhar is at Bahawalpur, where the Jaish-e-Mohammad has its main training facility. Official sources familiar with the matter told MyNation that Azhar is at Markaz-e-Usma-o-Ali, Railway Link Road, Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
In fact, Azhar has been at this facility for nearly 7 months now. He has been advised to remain there and not move around. Further, he has also been advised not to take active part in the activities of the JeM as the heat on him is extremely high.
Countering Pakistan:
Pakistan would state that it has not been able to proceed against Azhar because they are not aware of his whereabouts. However, India would counter this lie with documents, dossiers, which also have the statements of Pakistan’s foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
Pakistan’s foreign minister has said in public that Azhar is suffering from a life threatening spine disease. Further, the Indian dossier also contains details of Rauf Asghar, the brother of Azhar, who now runs the outfit.
We have documented proof of Azhar’s whereabouts and everything has been presented in the dossier. Further, India would also provide the investigation details into the Pathankot attack of 2016, which links the JeM chief directly. Forensic evidence about the involvement of the JeM in the Pathankot, Uri, Nagrota and Pulwama attacks are also part of the dossier.
Azhar’s many addresses:
Over the past few years, Azhar, a high value asset for Pakistan, has been moved around several times. In the aftermath of the Pulwama attack, Azhar was moved to an army hospital in Rawalpindi. India said that this was done only to grant him protection as Pakistan had suspected back then that India would hit him.
India did strike at Balakot, days after the ghastly attack at Pulwama in which 40 CRPF jawans were martyred. In addition to this, India has also learnt that apart from the main address at Bahawalpur, Azhar has been moved around to the following addresses: Madrasa Bilal Habshi, Khyber Paktunkhwa, Madrasa Masjid-Luqman, Khyber Paktukhwa and Kausar Colony Bahawalpur. Azhar is advised to keep changing his location frequently fearing a hit by an external agency.
The importance of Azhar in Pakistan:
Masood Azhar was released in exchange for the hostages taken during the Kandahar hijack. Azhar had been under arrest in Kashmir and following his release, he returned to Pakistan and floated the Jaish-e-Mohammad. The JeM’s first major strike was the Parliament attack.
Former Chief of the Research and Analysis Wing said that prior to this, there were four attempts made to release him. The problem during the Kandahar incident was that the hijackers were backed by a state (Pakistan). This was an ISI controlled operation with the sole intention of releasing Azhar.
The importance of Azhar can be seen from the fact that he got away scot free despite him plotting an assassination of former Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf. He was never arrested in the case and was asked to lie low for several years. A few years later, he was brought out by the ISI once again and asked to go full throttle with terror-related activities against India.
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