Ahead Of FATF Plenary, Pakistan Raises JeM Chief Masood Azhar’s Bounty To PKR 70 Lakh

Ahead of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary in October, Pakistan has announced a PKR 70 lakh reward for information on the capture of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar. 

In its newly released Red Book of most wanted terrorists, presented by Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the body has categorized Masood Azhar as a fugitive and raised his bounty by PKR 20 lakh.

To evade action and deceive the international community, Pakistan is trying to create this subterfuge in order to avoid falling into the grey list, at a time when it's internal security, relationship with Afghanistan (particularly at the Durand Line) and it's economy is in shambles. 

In a similar tactic to camouflage its support for JeM Chief, Pakistan in 2021 also attempted to create a narrative that Azhar was no longer on its soil and had fled to Afghanistan. But according to the technical analysis by the Indian intelligence agencies over the last six months, Azhar is actively hiding in Nawabshah city within Pakistan’s Sindh province. 

Threat from FATF to Pakistan 

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

Pakistan has faced FATF monitorings on multiple occasions and was out on the grey list twice in the last two decades. 

However on this occassion, Indian senior bureaucrat Vivek Aggarwal has been elected Vice President of this crucial body earlier in June.

Azhar’s Past And Others Involved

It is worthy to note here that Pakistan has been trying to safe Masood Azahar (including many others terrorists) since the last two decades.

After his release in 1999 IC-814 hijacking, he founded the terror outfit and has been linked to several terrorist attacks including the 2001 Parliament attacks, 2016 Pathankot airbase attack, the Uri Army camp attack,the February 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed and others. 

Beyond Masood Azhar, the FIA’s newly updated Red Book contains the names of 19 terrorists involved in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks who assisted, financed, or managed boats for the operatives. 

While 17 of these terrorists are listed along with their photographs and specific roles in 26/11, Pakistan has covertly removed the photographs, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) affiliations, and detailed operational roles of two terrorists, retaining only their names.

Specifically, the FIA retains the name of Muhammad Khan from Turbat who provided the boat Al-Hussaini to transport the attackers to Mumbai in its updated list, but has excised his photograph, LeT link, and role. 

Additionally, the photograph and LeT affiliation of Abdul Rehman from Bahawalnagar have been stripped from the record. 

Both individuals had their full roles and photos published in the 2021 FIA list. The updated roster lists of 11 LeT terrorists responsible for facilitating the sea voyage of the attackers aboard the boats Al-Hussaini and Al-Fauz: Muhammad Amjad Khan (Multan), Shahid Gafoor (Bahawalpur), Mohammad Usman (Sahiwal), Ateeq-ur-Rehman (Lahore), Riaz Ahmad (Hafizabad), Muhammad Mushtaq (Gujranwala), Muhammad Naeem (Dera Ghazi Khan), Abdul Shakoor (Karachi), Muhammad Sabir Salfi (Multan), Muhammad Usman (Lodhran), and Shakeel Ahmed (Rahim Yar Khan).

The updated Red Book also included the names of six terrorists who provided financial assistance in the 26/11 attacks.

Muhammad Iftikhar Ali (Faisalabad), an LeT operative who spent PKR 70,000 to set up VOIP connections enabling communication between the attackers and their handlers; Mohammad Zia (Rawalpindi), who provided PKR 80,000 to LeT for the attack; Mohammad Abbas Nasir (Khanewal), who contributed PKR 2,53,000; Javed Iqbal (Kasur), who supplied PKR 1,86,430; Mukhtar Ahmad (Mandi Bahauddin), who donated PKR 2,98,047; and Ahmed Saeed (Battagram), who provided PKR 21 lakh for the operation.

A Surge In Numbers

According to the FIA, all 17 terrorists involved in the 26/11 attacks have been absconding for 18 years. However, according to the Indian intelligence sources, "all 17 individuals remain inside Pakistan, and that placing them on the FIA Most Wanted list is merely an eyewash to misdirect international scrutiny."

The total count of most wanted terrorists in Pakistan has surged by 35%, growing from 1,330 terrorists in the FIA’s 2021 Red Book to 1,804 in the latest release.

During Operation Sindoor last year, the Indian security forces hit the terror outfit headquarters in Bahawalpur and confirm the destruction of the Markaz Subhanallah.