Bilawal Bhutto, in an interview with Al Jazeera, said that Masood Azhar may be in Afghanistan, and denied that Hafiz Saeed is free. He also said that Pakistan is willing to act if India shares evidence.
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.
Bhutto claimed that, given Azhar’s involvement in the Afghan jihad, Pakistan believes he may be in Afghanistan. “It’s not possible for Pakistan to do what NATO couldn’t do in Afghanistan. There is no reason for us to want anyone of concern to be active,” he said, referencing the Western withdrawal and the Taliban’s return to power in the nation.
Bhutto, whose party is part of the ruling coalition in Pakistan, said, “If and when the Indian government shares information with us that he is on Pakistani soil, we would be more than happy to arrest him.” He added that so far, New Delhi had not done so.
Azhar, one of India’s 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.
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.
When asked why Pakistan was waiting for India to act, Bhutto pointed to international counterterrorism cooperation, where countries exchange lists of suspects. “That’s how we’ve thwarted attacks in London, New York, and Pakistan,” he said.
He also responded to a report by The New York Times, claiming that Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed was roaming free. “That’s factually not correct. Hafiz Saeed is in the custody of the Pakistani state,” Bhutto said.
