In an extraordinary step, Islamabad has officially sent a letter to Kabul requesting that Maulana Masood Azhar, the founder of the outlawed religio-militant group Jaish E Mohammad, be located, reported, and arrested (JEM).
A senior official with direct knowledge of the incident told this correspondent, on condition of anonymity, that “We have written a one-page letter to Afghan Foreign Ministry, urging them to find, report and arrest Masood Azhar, as we believe that he is hiding somewhere in Afghanistan.”
When prompted for comment, the Foreign Office spokesman chose not to address this development. The one-page letter also identified the regions of Nangarhar and Kunar as possible hiding places for Masood Azhar.
It is currently unknown whether Masood relocated to Afghanistan before or after the Taliban seized control of Kabul on August 15, 2021. The sources stated that the 15-member Financial Action Task Force (FATF) delegation, which had returned from a five-day visit to Islamabad, was also informed of Masood Azhar’s whereabouts in Afghanistan.
JEM had been officially outlawed in Islamabad since January 14, 2002, while Gen. Musharraf was in power. On May 10, 2019, the Interior Ministry banned two further organisations, the Al-Rehmat Trust in Bahawalpur and the Al-Furqan Trust in Karachi, following 17 years of JEM being prohibited.
As a suspected terrorist, former JEM leader Maulana Masood Azhar was still listed in Schedule 4 of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1999. He is accused of organizing numerous terrorist attacks in various locations.
