NEW DELHI, Jan 7: Under pressure from the global terror financing watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan is learnt to have issued arrest warrant against the United Nations-designated “global terrorist” and Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar on charges of terror financing.
“The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Gujranwala judge Natasha Naseem Supra issued an arrest warrant for Masood Azhar and directed the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) to arrest him and present him in the court. The CTD told the judge the JeM chief was involved in terror financing and selling jihadi literature,” an official said..
He said the ATC judge issued the arrest warrant on the request of a CTD inspector.
Azhar is believed to be hiding in a “safe place” in his native town Bahawalpur.
Following Pulwama attack in February, 2019, Pakistan’s Punjab province police had launched a crackdown on terrorism financing and in this connection arrested six activists of the JeM in Gujranwala.
The CTD said its teams raided the whereabouts of the JeM’s “safe house” and arrested its members — Muhammad Afzal, Muhammad Amir, Allah Ditta, Muhammad Iftikhar, Muhammad Ajmal and Muhammad Bilal Makki — and recovered lakhs of rupees from their possession.
“The suspects were collecting funds to finance activities of JeM. The chargesheet against them has been submitted to the Anti-Terrorism Court Gujranwala and they are being interrogated,” the CTD said.
Following immense international pressure after the Pulwama attack, the Pakistan government had arrested over 100 members of banned militant outfits including the JeM chief’s son and brother. The government also took control of the JeM, Mumbai terror attack mastermind Haifiz Saeed’s Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) and Falahai Insaniat Foundation (FIF) properties including seminaries and mosques across the country.
JeM had accepted the responsibility for the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF soldiers.
(Manas Dasgupta)
