Masood Azhar bounty: India calls Pakistan’s Rs 7 million reward a 'gimmick'; asks Islamabad to take concrete action, not make 'phoney' announcements

India on Tuesday dismissed Pakistan's fresh announcement of a seven million rupees bounty on Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a "gimmick", calling on Islamabad to take concrete action against terrorism.

Pakistan has maintained the bounty on Azhar, who continues to feature in the country's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Red Book of most-wanted terrorists.

Azhar is wanted in India in connection with several major terror attacks, including the 2001 Parliament attack, 2008 Mumbai attacks, 2016 Pathankot airbase attack and 2019 Pulwama bombing.


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India slams Pakistan over Masood Azhar bounty

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal criticised Pakistan's announcement during his regular media briefing.

"Such gimmicks and hoodwinking by Pakistan is nothing new. We have seen similar gimmicks in the past as well," Jaiswal said in response to a question on Pakistan maintaining the bounty on Azhar.

"For a state sponsor of terrorism to make such phoney announcements, we all know how hollow it is. Pakistan must take concrete action and not make phoney announcements. It is of no consequence," he added.

Where is Masood Azhar? India, Pakistan claims

India has for years accused Pakistan of sheltering Azhar. Islamabad, however, has claimed that the JeM founder fled to Afghanistan and has maintained in recent years that he has been operating from there.

The claim has been rejected by Afghanistan's Taliban government.

Last week, a senior Afghan Foreign Ministry official dismissed Pakistan's repeated claims, saying that Azhar is not in Afghanistan.

Pakistan's Masood Azhar bounty announcement and FATF pressure

Pakistan's fresh announcement on the reward for information on Azhar comes as the country faces scrutiny over its efforts to combat terrorism and terrorist financing.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Paris-based global watchdog on money laundering and terror financing, is set to review Pakistan's anti-terrorism efforts at its upcoming plenary.

Pakistan was placed on the FATF grey list between 2018 and 2022 over deficiencies in its anti-money laundering framework and efforts to counter terrorist financing.

Among the concerns raised were Pakistan's failure to curb terror financing linked to groups including Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba, as well as weak implementation of financial sanctions against UN-designated individuals.

Pakistan's FATF grey list history

To exit the FATF grey list, Pakistan was required to take several measures, including banning JeM, LeT and their affiliated fronts and prosecuting leaders of the organisations.

Masood Azhar was among those convicted in absentia in Pakistan in 2021. He was designated a UN Security Council global terrorist in May 2019.

Pakistan was allowed to exit the FATF grey list in 2022, with the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) continuing to review its progress on specific issues.

One of the areas under review at the request of FATF has been Pakistan's efforts to arrest Azhar.

India says Pakistan must take concrete action

People familiar with the matter said Pakistan had backslid on assurances given to FATF after its removal from the grey list, following a decline in international pressure and scrutiny.

India has maintained that Pakistan needs to demonstrate concrete action against terrorism rather than make announcements regarding individuals wanted for terror-related activities.


Inputs from PTI