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| 'Most wanted' terrorists safe in Pakistan | | Islamabad won't hand over Masood Azhar to India | |
BL KAK
NEW DELHI, JULY 13: Government of India's list of 'most wanted' terrorists has already become an open secret. Chief of Jaish-e-Mohammed jihadi organisation, Masood Azhar, finds an important place in the list. What has chagrined New Delhi is that despite Islamabad's louder noises vis-a-vis its policy against any encouragement to extremists and terrorist groups on the territory controlled by Pakistan, Masood Azhar has sucessfully managed to deeply entrench himself and his organisation in Pakistan.
Masood Azhar's success is attributed to the support and cooperation from Pakistan's official agencies, particularly the ISI, and pro-Taliban lobby in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). Continuing efforts by New Delhi to get him back, Pakistan, on present indications, will not oblige the government of India. Masood Azar is the 'most wanted terrorist' on the list of India, which has, once again, been forwarded to Islamabad for necessary action.
But for many in Pakistani establishment the Jaish-e-Mohammed founder, Masood Azhar, is wanted to deliver on the agenda to destabilise India. About four years ago, Masood Azhar was isolated for the likely involvement of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) members in a plot to assassinate Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
But today he is back in business, the US intelligence community is said to have confirmed. Masood Azhar had to undergo a certain decline in prestige after the December 2003 attacks on Gen. Musharraf. But he represents a fairly lethal organisation and once again has been rehabilitated and is enjoying complete freedom of movement in Pakistan.
Arrested in Kashmir in 1994, Masood Azhar was released during the hijack of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 which was taken to Kandahar. And within months, his terror outfit, Jaish-e-Mohammad, was back to attacking India. In October 2001, three Jaish terrorists attacked the J&K Assembly complex killing 42 unarmed civilians. In December that year, the Indian Parliament was attacked by five Jaish terrorists. The attack brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war. In November, 2005, a Jaish suicide bomber exploded a car bomb hours before the swearing in of Ghulam Nabi Azad as Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
Indian intelligence community has admitted that Jaish-e-Mohammed is a very signifcant organisation as far as terrorism in India is concerned. And the JeM is now also being linked with Al Qaeda. London police arrested suspects that they claim were plotting to blow up 10 US-bound aircraft. Also involved was Jaish terrorist Rashid Rauf-- a British citizen living in Pakistan, who is also Masood Azhar's brother-in-law.
Despite the fact that Masood Azhar has been linked to the Al Qaeda and with an assassination attempt on Gen. Musharraf, he and the Jaish-e-Mohammed find safe haven in Pakistan. And according to one school of thought, as long as he delivers on the agenda to destabilise India, he will be tolerated.
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