India to sharpen offensive against Pak at FATF: Focus on Masood Azhar and Jaish-e-Mohammed

New Delhi, October 28 (IANS): As the plenary meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) gets underway on Wednesday, all eyes will be on India’s move to corner Pakistan on terror funding.

Over the last few days, there have been several backchannel talks whereby India has instructed its diplomats from other nations to drum up as much support as possible so that India can make out its case against Pakistan’s terror-funding activities.

An official said the main focus would be around Jaish-e-Mohammed and its chief Masood Azhar. At the FATF plenary, Indian officials would build a strong case against Azhar, while accusing Pakistan of doing little or nothing to curb his activities, the official said.

After the push made in 2018, Pakistan was placed in the Grey List. This was thanks to the sustained action by India and the United States and its global allies against Lashkar-e-Taiba. India had also brought up the issue of Jaish-e-Mohammed during the 2018-2019 enforcement period and cited the terror outfit’s role in the Pulwama attack.

This time around, New Delhi has sharpened its focus on the Jaish-e-Mohammed and its chief Masood Azhar. All these years, Pakistan got away with it by stating that Azhar is in Afghanistan. At that time, Pakistan and Afghanistan shared good ties, and this helped Pakistan conceal Azhar’s whereabouts.

Officials say the case relating to Azhar is different today. Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban have had a fallout and even engaged in a battle that continues even today. In September, Taliban spokesperson Zia Ahmed categorically called out Pakistan’s lies while stating that Azhar was not in Afghanistan.

He clarified that Pakistan had not sent any formal commutation regarding Masood Azhar’s presence in Afghanistan. Further, Zia said that Afghanistan would not let its territory be used against any country.

This statement by the Taliban spokesperson has added weight to India’s case, and at the FATF, India would continue to insist that Pakistan has always shielded Azhar and sheltered him.

Another official said that India is making the big push at a time when the FATF is under the presidency of Giles Thomson of the United Kingdom, who would review Pakistan’s anti-terror efforts.

The plenary is being held from October 28 to 30 in Paris. India aims to corner Pakistan and will try to get the FATF to act against Islamabad. India has repeatedly said that Azhar has remained on Pakistan soil and planned major attacks on Indian soil, the official said.

India argues that there is at least some perceived action against Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed. During the 2018-19 enforcement period, the FATF did place Pakistan in the Grey List after it was convinced that its actions against Lashkar-e-Taiba and Saeed were not sufficient. This time around, by focusing mostly on the Jaish-e-Mohammed, India hopes to get the FATF to act against Pakistan and its complicity in acting against this group, the official said.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that at first Pakistan managed to get away by lying that Azhar was in Afghanistan. However, with that bluff now caught, Islamabad has been spinning stories about Azhar’s well-being. It has also indulged in rumour-mongering by stating that Azhar may not be alive after all.

Most recently, Pakistan made an announcement stating that the bounty on Azhar had been enhanced. This in itself is a joke, as the announcement was made at a time when Azhar was very much in Pakistan and under protection by the state, the official said.

Although the latest Intelligence reports state that Azhar is not in the best of health, reports about him being out of action or dead are completely false, the official said, adding that he is very much in Pakistan.

Moreover, the Jaish-e-Mohammed, which faced a setback during Operation Sindoor, is very much operational. In fact, Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists are very much part of the launchpads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). They are part of teams in these launchpads which comprise terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen, Intelligence inputs state.

Azhar was in Bahawalpur when Operation Sindoor was carried out. However, he was not at the Jaish-e-Mohammed headquarters, which was razed to rubble by the Indian armed forces. Instead, he was immediately shifted to Military Hospital Rawalpindi, which is officially known as the Pak Emirates Military Hospital or PEMH. Azhar has been shifted to this facility several times in the past as well. He has been there in protective custody and has also been treated at the same facility for renal failure.

Ahead of the FATF plenary, India has been building up a strong case against Masood Azhar. These include his whereabouts and terror activities, relating to funding and operational capabilities. India has managed to get several member nations on board and would be able to make out a strong case against Masood Azhar and his Jaish-e-Mohammed, which have been responsible for the Parliament, Pathankot and Pulwama attacks, an official said.