Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar is in Afghanistan, says Pakistan foreign minister | Exclusive

Globally designated terrorist Masood Azhar is in Afghanistan, Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari told India Today.

Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar is in Afghanistan, Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said. The minister's statement comes days after the Taliban denied his presence in Afghanistan.

Speaking to India Today, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that Azhar no longer remains an issue only between India and Pakistan. He has become a trilateral issue among India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, he said.

On Wednesday, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid firmly rejected Pakistani media reports about the presence of Masood Azhar in the country, saying such terrorist organisations can operate on Pakistan’s soil and even under official patronage.

Apparently, Pakistan had also sent a letter to the Taliban government with a demand to hand Masood Azhar over to Islamabad.

“We have written a one-page letter to the Afghan foreign ministry, asking them to locate, report and arrest Masood Azhar, as we believe that he is hiding somewhere in (eastern Nangarhar province) Afghanistan,” The News reported on Tuesday, quoting a top Pakistani foreign ministry official.

Mujahid had refuted Pakistan's claim, saying that no such demand was presented before Afghanistan by Islamabad.

“Jaish-e-Mohammad chief is not in Afghanistan. Such organisations can operate on Pakistan’s soil and even under official patronage,” Mujahid had told TOLO News. “We’ll not allow anyone to use Afghanistan’s soil against any other country.”