The Taliban government has rejected repeated claims by Pakistan that Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) founder Masood Azhar is based in Afghanistan, with a senior Afghan Foreign Ministry official saying the wanted terrorist is not present in the country.
Kabul has also reiterated its position that Afghan soil will not be allowed to be used to carry out activities against any other country.
Pakistan has for years claimed that Azhar crossed into Afghanistan, even as Islamabad faces scrutiny from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) over its efforts to dismantle terror networks and act against their leadership. The Paris-based global watchdog is expected to assess Pakistan’s counter-terror financing measures at its upcoming plenary meeting.
Azhar is wanted in India in connection with several major terror attacks, including the 2001 Parliament attack, the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the 2016 Pathankot airbase attack and the 2019 Pulwama bombing. The JeM chief was designated a global terrorist by the United Nations Security Council in May 2019.
Why Masood Azhar Matters To FATF Review
Pakistan was placed on the FATF grey list in 2018 over shortcomings in its anti-money laundering framework and efforts to prevent terror financing. It remained on the list until 2022.
The concerns included inadequate action against terror financing linked to groups such as JeM and Lashkar-e-Taiba, as well as weak enforcement of financial sanctions against individuals designated by the UN, according to people familiar with FATF’s actions.
To secure its removal from the grey list, Pakistan was required to undertake several measures, including action against JeM, LeT and their affiliated organisations, as well as securing convictions against leaders of the groups.
Azhar was among those convicted in absentia by a Pakistani court in 2021.
Pakistan was removed from the grey list in 2022, with the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) continuing to monitor the country’s progress on specific areas. One of the issues under review, following a FATF request, has been Pakistan’s efforts to locate and arrest Azhar.
Pakistan Says Azhar Crossed Into Afghanistan
According to people cited in the report, Pakistan’s focus on meeting FATF requirements weakened after its removal from the grey list, and Islamabad subsequently failed to follow through on some of the commitments it had made.
Pakistan has maintained that it could not arrest Azhar because he was no longer in the country. Islamabad previously claimed that he crossed the Durand Line into Afghanistan in May 2019 and has remained at large since then.
However, the Taliban government has repeatedly denied that Azhar is in Afghanistan.
In September 2022, a Taliban spokesperson said Azhar was not present in Afghanistan and that Pakistan had not formally communicated with Kabul about his alleged presence there.
