Taliban busts Pakistan's lie on Masood Azhar; tells Shehbaz terrorist isn't in Afghanistan

After Pakistan wrote to the Taliban claiming that Jaish-e-Mohammad chief and UN-designated terrorist Masood Azhar is possibly hiding in the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan, the foreign ministry of Afghanistan on Wednesday rejected the claim, adding that such unverified allegations can affect bilateral ties between the two nations. 

Afghanistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi informed, "IEA-MoFA rejects media reports asserting that Jaish-e-Mohammed group leader, Masood Azhar, has sought refuge in Afghanistan," adding, "We reiterate that IEA does not allow any armed oppositions in its territory to operate against any other country. We also call on all parties to avoid such allegations lacking proof and documentation. Such media allegations can adversely affect bilateral relations."

Pakistan Passes Buck On Masood Azhar's Location To Afghanistan

In a desperate bid to be removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List, the Pakistan government had asked Afghanistan to arrest the Jaish-e-Mohammad chief, who is also India's most wanted. As per Pakistan media reports, their foreign ministry has written to the Afghan Taliban to detain Masood Azhar. 

A top Pakistani official, on the condition of anonymity, told ANI, “We have written a one-page letter to the Afghan Foreign Ministry, asking it to locate, report and arrest Masood Azhar as we believe that he is hiding somewhere in Afghanistan."

Azhar is responsible for several terror attacks in India, like the 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament and the 2019 Pulwama explosion.

Pakistan wrote to the Taliban after an anti-terrorism court in Gujranwala had issued an arrest warrant for Azhar, for allegedly raising funds for a terrorist group. The Pakistan government has imprisoned some major leaders of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), despite their earlier claim that they are not being able to locate them, for example, Sajid Mir-  26/11 perpetrator. 

In 2021, the United Nations recorded that the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed “were stated to have approximately 800 and 200 armed fighters, respectively, co-located with Taliban forces in Mohmand Darah, Dur Baba and Sherzad Districts of Nangarhar Province.”

Pakistan's periodic sham crackdowns on terrorism have been exposed by Republic numerous times.