'Aankhon Mein Dhool Jhonk Rahe Hain': MEA Slams Pakistan's PKR 70 Lakh Bounty For Masood Azhar

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Tuesday dismissed Pakistan's decision to increase the bounty on UN-listed terrorist and Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar to PKR 70 lakh, calling it a "gimmick" and a "phoney announcement".

Responding to a question on the development at a press briefing, Jaiswal said Pakistan had made such announcements in the past as well. "Such gimmicks and hoodwinking by Pakistan is not new. We have seen such gimmicks in the past as well," Jaiswal said.

Calling Pakistan a state sponsor of terror, Jaiswal said such an announcement was of no consequence and urged Islamabad to take action instead. "They must take action and not make phony announcements which is of no consequence," he added.

The remarks came after Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) included Masood Azhar in its newly released Red Book of most wanted terrorists and categorised him as a fugitive.

Pakistan's Bounty On Masood Azhar

As Outlook India reported earlier, Pakistan has increased the reward for information leading to Masood Azhar's capture by PKR 20 lakh, taking the bounty to PKR 70 lakh.

The move comes ahead of the October Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary. Pakistan has faced FATF monitoring on multiple occasions and has been on the grey list twice in the last two decades.

The FIA's updated Red Book also contains the names of 19 terrorists linked to the 26/11 Mumbai attacks who assisted, financed or managed boats for the attackers.

While 17 of them are listed with photographs and specific roles, the photographs, Lashkar-e-Taiba affiliations and detailed operational roles of two terrorists have been removed from the updated record.

Masood Azhar's Background

Pakistan has been trying to safeguard Masood Azhar for the past two decades. Azhar was released following the 1999 IC-814 hijacking and later founded Jaish-e-Mohammed. He has been linked to several terrorist attacks, including the 2001 Parliament attack, the 2016 Pathankot airbase attack, the Uri Army camp attack and the February 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed.

In 2021, Pakistan had attempted to create a narrative that Azhar was no longer on its soil and had fled to Afghanistan.

However, technical analysis by Indian intelligence agencies over the past six months has indicated that Azhar is actively hiding in Nawabshah city in Pakistan's Sindh province.

FATF And Pakistan

The FATF is an intergovernmental organisation that serves as the principal global watchdog against money laundering and terrorist financing. It was established in 1989 and currently has 40 members, including India, China, the Gulf Cooperation Council and the European Commission.

Indian senior bureaucrat Vivek Aggarwal was elected vice-president of the FATF earlier in June. The updated FIA Red Book also includes six terrorists accused of providing financial assistance in the 26/11 attacks.

They include Muhammad Iftikhar Ali, who allegedly spent PKR 70,000 to establish VOIP connections for communication between the attackers and their handlers; Mohammad Zia, who allegedly provided PKR 80,000; Mohammad Abbas Nasir, who allegedly contributed PKR 2,53,000; Javed Iqbal, who allegedly supplied PKR 1,86,430; Mukhtar Ahmad, who allegedly donated PKR 2,98,047; and Ahmed Saeed, who allegedly provided PKR 21 lakh.