India asks Pakistan to shun 'duplicity' on terrorism; demands action against JeM chief Masood Azhar

NEW DELHI: India asked Pakistan on Friday to take strong action against Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar, after reports emerged that he delivered a speech recently at a public gathering in the Pakistani city of Bahawalpur.

New Delhi said if the reports of Azhar's location are correct, then Pakistan's "duplicity" has been exposed as it has been maintaining that the JeM chief is not in that country.

Azhar, known to be the mastermind of the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, was designated as a global terrorist by the UN Security Council the same year.

"He is a UN-designated terrorist. We demand that strong action be taken against him, that he is brought to justice," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing.

His remarks came when asked about reports that Azhar delivered a speech at a public gathering in Bahawalpur last month.

Jaiswal also questioned Pakistan's persistent position that Azhar is not in the country.

"There has been denial that he is not there in Pakistan. If the reports (of his location) are correct then it exposes the duplicity of Pakistan," he said.

"Masood Azhar is involved in cross-border terror attacks against India and we want that strong action be taken against him," Jaiswal added.

In 2022, the then Pakistani foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto had reportedly said that Azhar had fled to Afghanistan.

India had released Azhar in 1999 in exchange for freeing the hostages of hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814 (IC814).

In his speech last month, Azhar reportedly said "fearful rulers" who do not believe in the word of Allah and "jihad" have "led us to defeat" in Kashmir, Palestine and other Muslim lands.

Azhar is also believed to be the mastermind of the 2001 terror attack on Parliament and the 2016 Pathankot strikes.

Over the last few years, India has been asking Pakistan to take stringent action against the JeM chief.