Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar is in the country. He however claimed that he was really unwell and not in a position to even leave his house. It is to be noted that Azhar has masterminded several terror attacks in India. Speaking to CNN, Qureshi said that for the Pakistani authorities to arrest Azhar, India would first have to hand over proof that is “acceptable in Pakistani courts.”
JeM has been behind the attack on the Parliament House in 2001, the Pathankot air force base attack of 2016, the terror strike on army camps in Jammu and Uri in 2016, and the latest suicide attack on CRPF in Pulwama, which escalated the tensions between the two nations. “According to my information, he is very unwell. He is unwell to the extent that he cannot leave his house because he is really unwell. That’s the information I have," the Minister said.
"If they [India] give us evidence which is acceptable to the courts of Pakistan — after all, we will have to justify. They will go to court. If they have solid inalienable evidence, share it with us so that we can convince the people and convince the independent judiciary of Pakistan," he said. He added: "We will be open to any step that leads to de-escalation. If they have good solid evidence, please sit and talk. Please initiate a dialogue and we will show reasonableness."
