India on Tuesday called out Pakistan over its attempts to mislead the world by announcing a bounty on Jaish-e-Mohammed chief and wanted terrorist Masood Azhar of PKR 70 lakh, contending that Islamabad should take concrete action against terrorists instead of making announcements that are of no consequence.
Responding to a query during a media briefing, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal called the bounty an attempt at "hoodwinking people", saying that these are hollow announcements from "state sponsor of terrorism" Pakistan.
"Such gimmicks and attempts at hoodwinking people by Pakistan are nothing new. We have seen similar gimmicks in the past as well. For a state sponsor of terrorism to make such phoney announcements, we all know how hollow they are," he added.
Jaiswal said that Pakistan must take concrete action rather than make announcements that are "ultimately of no consequence".
Pakistan's smokescreen to avoid FATF grey list
India's response comes after Pakistan retained a reward of PKR 7 million on Monday for information leading to the arrest of Masood Azhar, who continues to figure in the Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) Red Book of most-wanted terrorists.
Azhar, the founder and chief of the Pakistan-based terror group, is wanted in India in connection with several terror cases, including the 2001 Parliament attack. India has also named him among the 20 fugitives it has sought from Pakistan, a demand that was renewed following the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, in which 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists killed 166 people.
Indian authorities have linked JeM to several subsequent attacks, including the 2016 Pathankot airbase attack and the 2019 Pulwama bombing.
India has repeatedly accused Pakistan of providing shelter to Azhar. Pakistan, however, has maintained that he fled to Afghanistan, a claim rejected by the Taliban government.
Azhar was included in the FIA's Red Book in 2021, according to information provided by the agency.
The development comes ahead of the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) next plenary, scheduled to be held in Paris from October 26 to 30. FATF plenary meetings typically review countries' progress in addressing deficiencies related to money laundering and terrorist financing, among other issues.
According to the FIA, 17 terrorists linked to the 26/11 Mumbai attacks have remained absconding for 18 years. Indian intelligence sources, however, have claimed that all 17 remain in Pakistan and described their inclusion in the FIA's most-wanted list as an attempt to deflect international scrutiny.
The number of terrorists on Pakistan's FIA most-wanted list has risen by around 35 per cent over the past five years, from 1,330 in the 2021 Red Book to 1,804 in the latest edition.
Pakistan was placed on the FATF's increased monitoring list, commonly known as the grey list, in 2018 and remained there until 2022. It was removed after completing commitments under two FATF action plans agreed in 2018 and 2021. These included measures to strengthen its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing framework and improve the implementation of targeted financial sanctions.
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