Latest news with #AfghanJihad
Time of India
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Masood Azhar not in Pakistan? Bhutto points to Afghanistan for housing one of India's most wanted terrorists
In a revealing interview with Al Jazeera, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman and former Foreign Minister 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 by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play this game for 3 minutes, if you own a mouse Undo 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. Live Events 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.
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
'Don't know where he is': Bhutto on Masood Azhar; gets called out for Pak's support to terror
Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari revealed that Islamabad does not know the current whereabouts of UN-designated terrorist , and suggested he may be in Afghanistan. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "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 in an exclusive with Al Jazeera. When asked about ongoing US concerns, including a 2022 State Department report that Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed continue to operate from Pakistani soil, Bhutto responded: 'I could contest that with you. But suffice to say it's beyond that now.' He insisted that Pakistan had met the rigorous requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and pointed to the convictions of individuals for terror financing and the seizure of over 90 institutions linked to extremist outfits. On the issue of , another figure of concern to India, Bhutto flatly denied reports that he was a free man. 'That's factually not correct… He is in the custody of the Pakistani state,' he said. The former Pakistani foreign minister's comments come amid growing international scrutiny of Pakistan's track record on tackling terrorism, and just weeks after the Global Terrorism Index 2025 placed the country as the second-most terrorism-affected nation in the world. The GTI reported a 45 per cent increase in terrorism-related deaths in Pakistan, linking the surge to the growing influence of militant groups along the Afghanistan border.
