‘May Be In Afghanistan': Bilawal Bhutto Says Pakistan Doesn't Know Where Masood Azhar Is
Bilawal Bhutto said Pakistan doesn't know Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar's location, suggesting he might be in Afghanistan.
Pakistani politician Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that Islamabad has no knowledge of the location of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar, one of India's most-wanted terrorists. Speaking in an interview with Al Jazeera, Bilawal Bhutto said Pakistan would be willing to arrest Masood Azhar if New Delhi provides credible evidence that he is on Pakistani soil.
'If and when the Indian government shares information with us that he is on Pakistani soil, we would be more than happy to arrest him," Bilawal Bhutto said, adding, 'The fact is, the Indian government is not…"
Masood Azhar, who has been linked to a string of terror attacks in India- including the 2001 Parliament attack, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the 2016 Pathankot airbase assault and the 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing- was designated a UN global terrorist in 2019. He was previously released from Indian custody in 1999 as part of a hostage exchange following the Kandahar hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814.
India has repeatedly demanded Masood Azhar's extradition, along with Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed but Pakistan has consistently denied harboring the terrorists despite evidence of their presence in the country.
'Hafiz Saeed Is Not A Free Man, Masood Azhar May Be In Afghanistan'
Bilawal Bhutto told Al Jazeera that Hafiz Saeed is not a free man and that Masood Azhar may be in Afghanistan. He said, responding to a New York Times report, 'That's not accurate. That's factually not correct that Hafiz Saeed is a free man. He is in the custody of the Pakistani state. As far as Masood Azhar is concerned, we have been unable to arrest him or identify him. Given his past within the Afghan jihad context, it is our belief that he is in Afghanistan."
Bilawal Bhutto further elaborated on why Pakistan expects cooperation from India to locate Masood Azhar, saying, 'When you have a counterterrorism cooperation with any country, we provide groups of our concern, they provide groups of their concern. That's how we managed to thwart attacks here in London, thwart attacks in New York, thwart attacks in Pakistan."
Afghanistan Situation Makes Action Difficult, Says Bilawal Bhutto
Referencing the current geopolitical situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban are now in control, Bilawal Bhutto said, 'If he is in Afghanistan, the West has now handed over the country to a group that once upon a time they called terrorists, and now they call the people in charge of Afghanistan. It's not possible for Pakistan to go and do what all of NATO was unable to do within Afghanistan. There's no reason for Pakistan to want to see this individual or any individual of concern to be active."
Bilawal Bhutto's comments come in the wake of the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, which prompted India to launch Operation Sindoor- a targeted military response in which Indian forces struck key terror infrastructure across Pakistan, including the Lashkar-e-Taiba headquarters in Muridke and Jaish-e-Mohammed's base in Bahawalpur. Masood Azhar said that as many as 10 members of his family and four aides were killed in the strikes.
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