Masood Azhar not in Pakistan? Bhutto points to Afghanistan for housing one of India's most wanted terrorists
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari
said Islamabad does not know the whereabouts of
Masood Azhar
, the UN-designated terrorist and
Jaish-e-Mohammed
chief. Bhutto suggested Azhar may be in Afghanistan and challenged India to provide actionable intelligence if it believes Azhar is in Pakistan.
'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,' Bhutto said during the interview.
Masood Azhar is accused of being responsible for several deadly attacks, including the 2019
Pulwama bombing
, and India has repeatedly called for action against him. New Delhi has a long-standing claim that Pakistan protects terrorists and thr terrorist attack in Kashmir in April was linked to the rival neighbour. Islamabad had, however, denied the charges
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Bhutto also responded to ongoing U.S. concerns, including a 2022 U.S. State Department report that cited continued operations of Jaish-e-Mohammed and
Lashkar-e-Taiba
in Pakistan. 'I could contest that with you. But suffice to say it's beyond that now,' he told Al Jazeera.
Bhutto defended Pakistan's steps to meet international standards set by the
Financial Action Task Force
(FATF), referring to convictions in terror-financing cases and the shutdown of over 90 institutions linked to extremist groups.
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On
Hafiz Saeed
, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba and another key figure wanted by India, Bhutto said, 'That's factually not correct… He is in the custody of the Pakistani state.'
The interview comes as Pakistan faces increasing pressure following the release of the
Global Terrorism Index 2025
. The report ranked Pakistan as the second-most terrorism-affected country, citing a 45% spike in terror-related deaths. The rise has been linked to the resurgence of militant groups near the Afghan border.
Why is Masood Azhar 'wanted' in India?
Masood Azhar has long been one of India's most wanted terrorists. He was released from Indian custody in 1999 in exchange for hostages on the hijacked Indian Airlines flight IC-814.
Soon after his release, Azhar founded Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), which has been linked to several attacks on Indian military and civilian targets.
Azhar has been on the run after being said to be the mastermind behind the 2001 Parliament attack, the 2016 Pathankot airbase attack, and the 2019 Pulwama bombing, among others. These attacks led to the deaths of dozens of Indian security personnel and civilians, and escalated tensions between the two neighbours.
India has repeatedly asked Pakistan to take action against Azhar and hand him over. On May 7, 2025, India launched missile strikes on terrorist camps inside Pakistan in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack. One of the targets was Jaish-e-Mohammed's camp in Bahawalpur. Following the strike, the death of ten of his family members, including his sister, nephew, nieces, and other close relatives was confirmed.
India flags terror funding risk in IMF aid to Pakistan
Following the May 7 strikes, India accused Pakistan of rebuilding the very terror infrastructure that had been destroyed. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh raised concerns about Pakistan's intent and international financial support to it.
'Pakistan will spend the tax collected from its citizens to give around Rs 14 crore to Masood Azhar, the head of Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist organisation, even though he is a UN-designated terrorist,' Singh said.
He also alleged that the Pakistan government announced financial aid to rebuild the terror bases of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed in Muridke and Bahawalpur.
The defence minister also called on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reconsider its recent $1 billion assistance to Islamabad.
'Certainly, a large part of IMF's one billion dollars assistance will be used to fund the terror infrastructure. Will this not be considered indirect funding by IMF, an international organisation? Any financial assistance to Pakistan is no less than terror funding. The funds India gives to IMF should not be used, directly or indirectly, to create terror infrastructure in Pakistan or any other country,' Singh had said.
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