AGENCY
Islamabad: Pakistan on Wednesday arrested Jaish-e- Mohammad (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar, his brother and “several individuals” belonging to his dreaded outfit, which is suspected to have engineered the Pathankot terror attack, and sealed its offices after India demanded action, linking it to the fate of Foreign Secretary-level talks.
Azhar’s brother Abdul Rehman Rauf has also been arrested, Geo TV said.
While the arrest of several individuals was announced in a press release from the Prime Minister’s Office, there was no official word on Azhar’s detention.
Officials said Azhar, the dreaded terrorist and two other terrorists who were released from an Indian prison in 1999 in exchange for release of 155 passengers of the hijacked Indian Airlines plane, has been taken into protective custody after raids on several JeM offices.
Pakistan has also said it’s considering sending a special investigation team to Pathankot as more information would be required to carry forward the process of cooperation with India. In the spirit of the cooperative approach, the statement said, it was also decided that in order to carry the process forward, additional information would be required for which the government of Pakistan is considering sending a SIT to Pathankot in consultation with government of India.
“The meeting reiterated that in line with our decision to counter and completely eliminate terrorism, Pakistan would remain engaged with India on this issue,” the statement said.
Army chief Gen Raheel Sharif, Director-General ISI Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar, Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and other senior officials attended the meeting.
Last week India put the ball squarely in Pakistan’s court, linking the FS-level talks to Islamabad’s “prompt and decisive” action in the Pathankot terror attack for which it has provided “actionable intelligence”. An official said that close to a dozen militants have been held so far and were being questioned.
He refused to give further information like where they have been held or when they could be produced before any court.
In the terror attack on Pathankot Air Force base that began on January 2, six militants were also eliminated in an operation that lasted four days.(PTI)
