Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari revealed that Islamabad does not know the current whereabouts of UN-designated terrorist Masood Azhar , and suggested he may be in Afghanistan.
"As far as Masood Azhar is concerned, we have been unable to arrest him or identify him given his past within the Afghan Jihad context. It is our belief that he is in Afghanistan," Bhutto said in an exclusive with Al Jazeera.
When asked about ongoing US concerns, including a 2022 State Department report that Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed continue to operate from Pakistani soil, Bhutto responded: “I could contest that with you. But suffice to say it's beyond that now.”
He insisted that Pakistan had met the rigorous requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and pointed to the convictions of individuals for terror financing and the seizure of over 90 institutions linked to extremist outfits.
On the issue of Hafiz Saeed , another figure of concern to India, Bhutto flatly denied reports that he was a free man. “That’s factually not correct… He is in the custody of the Pakistani state,” he said.
The former Pakistani foreign minister’s comments come amid growing international scrutiny of Pakistan's track record on tackling terrorism, and just weeks after the Global Terrorism Index 2025 placed the country as the second-most terrorism-affected nation in the world.
The GTI reported a 45 per cent increase in terrorism-related deaths in Pakistan, linking the surge to the growing influence of militant groups along the Afghanistan border.
"As far as Masood Azhar is concerned, we have been unable to arrest him or identify him given his past within the Afghan Jihad context. It is our belief that he is in Afghanistan," Bhutto said in an exclusive with Al Jazeera.
When asked about ongoing US concerns, including a 2022 State Department report that Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed continue to operate from Pakistani soil, Bhutto responded: “I could contest that with you. But suffice to say it's beyond that now.”
He insisted that Pakistan had met the rigorous requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and pointed to the convictions of individuals for terror financing and the seizure of over 90 institutions linked to extremist outfits.
On the issue of Hafiz Saeed , another figure of concern to India, Bhutto flatly denied reports that he was a free man. “That’s factually not correct… He is in the custody of the Pakistani state,” he said.
The former Pakistani foreign minister’s comments come amid growing international scrutiny of Pakistan's track record on tackling terrorism, and just weeks after the Global Terrorism Index 2025 placed the country as the second-most terrorism-affected nation in the world.
The GTI reported a 45 per cent increase in terrorism-related deaths in Pakistan, linking the surge to the growing influence of militant groups along the Afghanistan border.
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