NEW DELHI, JUL 5 : In an interview with Al Jazeera, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said Islamabad has no knowledge of the whereabouts of Masood Azhar, chief of terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), and claimed the country would arrest him if India provided credible evidence that he was on Pakistani soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bhutto claimed that, given Azhar\u2019s involvement in the Afghan jihad, Pakistan believes he may be in Afghanistan. \u201cIt\u2019s not possible for Pakistan to do what NATO couldn\u2019t do in Afghanistan. There is no reason for us to want anyone of concern to be active,\u201d he said, referencing the Western withdrawal and the Taliban\u2019s return to power in the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bhutto, whose party is part of the ruling coalition in Pakistan, said, \u201cIf and when the Indian government shares information with us that he is on Pakistani soil, we would be more than happy to arrest him.\u201d He added that so far, New Delhi had not done so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Azhar, one of India\u2019s most-wanted terrorists, has been linked to several major attacks in India, including the 2001 Parliament attack, the 26\/11 Mumbai attacks, the 2016 Pathankot airbase assault, and the 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was designated a global terrorist by the United Nations in 2019 and was released from Indian custody in 1999 as part of the Kandahar hijacking hostage exchange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked why Pakistan was waiting for India to act, Bhutto pointed to international counterterrorism cooperation, where countries exchange lists of suspects. \u201cThat\u2019s how we\u2019ve thwarted attacks in London, New York, and Pakistan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also responded to a report by The New York Times, claiming that Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed was roaming free. \u201cThat\u2019s factually not correct. Hafiz Saeed is in the custody of the Pakistani state,\u201d Bhutto said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His comments come in the wake of India\u2019s Operation Sindoor on May 7, launched in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, wherein Pakistan-backed terrorists killed 26 civilians, most tourists. As part of the operation, India targeted as many as nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, including the JeM base in Bahawalpur and the LeT\u2019s headquarters in Muridke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Masood Azhar said that ten of his family members and four aides were killed in the India strikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-PTI<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NEW DELHI, JUL 5 : In an interview with Al Jazeera, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said Islamabad has no knowledge of the whereabouts of Masood Azhar,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":139142,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[348],"tags":[63,1803,27292],"class_list":["post-139141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news","tag-new-delhi","tag-pakistan","tag-pakistan-peoples-party-ppp-leader-bilawal-bhutto-zardari"],"yoast_head":"\n